Reaching the Goal
by Selene98
Summary: Yukiko Uchiha isn't trying to be a traitor or a saint. She isn't trying to help an evil mastermind take over the world. And she isn't trying to fall in love with the enemy. She's just trying to reach the ultimate goal: becoming Hokage
1. Chapter 1

**Note:** This is a series of short chapters that I've worked on over the years, writing this and that when I get the time or inspiration. Enjoy!

Beginnings

As much as he hated to admit it, Sasuke Uchiha was terrified. He sat in the uncomfortable plastic chair beside the door, his fists clenched white as he listened to the screaming coming through the door. There was nothing he could do but wait and hope for the best.

Hours passed and the situation seemed grave. He wondered why it was taking so long, but dared not venture into the room. His presence had been forbidden, and crossing the wrath of those inside was not something he planned to do.

Finally, a break. The screaming had ceased, and the door opened. An exhausted looking Sakura peered out of the door and smiled at Sasuke.

"You can come in now." He stood slowly, somewhat unbelieving. He could hardly have imagined something like this years ago. But here he was, entering the room where his wife had given birth. There, sitting up on the bed sat Hinata, who looked even more exhausted than Sakura, as she held a bundle wrapped in blankets. Tsunade stood beside her holding another.

"It took them long enough, but they both came out just fine." Tsunade said. Sasuke could only nod as he looked between his wife and the two newborn children. Hinata smiled and held out the bundle in her arms. Sasuke stepped forward and took the child, amazed at how small it was.

"The firstborn." Hinata said, answering the question running through Sasuke's mind. "She has your eyes." The statement carried a heavy weight with it. Sasuke looked at the face of the little girl. She was making a soft gurgling noise, and staring blankly at Sasuke. He looked into her dark eyes and a twinge of fear raced through his mind. He was both glad and terrigied she had the potential for his kekki genkai. He handed the girl back to Hinata and took the other bundle from Tsunade.

"And he has mine." Hinata said, watching as her husband looked down into the creamy eyes of their son. Sasuke smiled down at his son and then up at Hinata. She met his eyes. He knew she felt his concerns about their children and the future. But she gave him the small smile that eased his tension.

"Her name is Yukiko." Hinata said, her voice low. "And his is Kazuki." Sasuke went over and sat on the hospital bed beside his wife, marveling at the two newborn children. "This is a new beginning, Sasuke. For all of us." Sasuke could only nod in agreement. It was the new beginning he so desperately needed.


	2. Chapter 2

Homesick

The Hidden Sound Village was beautiful in spring. At least, Yukiko thought so. The blooming flowers and budding trees made her giggle with delight. She sat on the balcony of her father's office with her feet hanging through the railing. Her eyes wide as she took in the view of the small village. She could see the vendors along the main street and people coming and going through the many side streets. She loved watching the city so filled with life. It had become quiet during the winter, but with spring melting away snowy roads and opening up trade routes, more people than ever were coming and going through the city. Yukiko took a moment to glance back at her father, bent over his large desk, eyes straining to read one of the many papers he had stacked up all around. Her father was always busy with his paperwork. She got up from her spot on the balcony and approached her father. She glanced up at the large file he was holding. It was thick and didn't look very fun like her books. So she crawled up in her father's lap and nuzzled close.

"Daddy. What are you reading?" She asked. Sasuke looked down at Yukiko. She had made herself comfortable in his lap many times, and he had to admit that sometimes it made his work much more bearable.

"I'm reading a report from our ambassadorial team. They just spent a month in Konoha." Sasuke said, not caring that his daughter probably didn't even know what an ambassador was. Yukiko frowned.

"That sounds boring." She said, looking back at the paper. Her eyes scanned the paper but she still continued to frown.

"It's not supposed to be fun." Sasuke said to his daughter. "Although it's good to hear that everyone back home is doing well. Especially your mother and Kazuki." He pointed to a part of the page and read aloud. "Lady Uchiha was especially hospitable, and her son Kazuki was always polite and well behaved. Both wish to send their regards, though I am not sure that it is entirely appropriate material for a report. Now Lady Uchiha is looking over my shoulder as I write and telling me that Ototkage-sama will greatly appreciate some small humor in a rather dry report." Sasuke let out a low laugh. "Your mother knows me too well." Yukiko looked up at her father.

"Why did you call Konoha home, Daddy?" She asked, her tone completely curious. "I thought home was here. In our house." Sasuke stilled for a moment before smiling at his daughter.

"Home is where you are happiest. And my home will always be with my family. So I am home when I am with you, but I want to be with all of my family. That's why Konoha is home. Because when we go back, all of our family will be there." Sasuke watched as his daughter worked out what he said. She had always been bright and more able to understand things than he had first expected.

"Okay." She said, with a sense of finality, staring intently at the paper. "That way you can't be homesick. Since I'm here." She looked up to her father and smiled.

"I suppose you're right." Sasuke said, placing his hand on her head and ruffling her short head of hair. He returned to reading the report with a small smile. These moments made all the work and stress of running a village worthwhile. And he knew that in a few years he would be able to take his daughter back to Konoha, where they both belonged.


	3. Chapter 3

**Note:** I know there isn't a lot of backstory and that this will skip large periods of time. It's the style of this. Got questions? I have answers.

Best Friend

Yukiko loved Otogakeru. It was home. She loved the way people would see her and wave. That they would greet her, not just because she was the daughter of their leader, but because she was a child that drew attention everywhere she went. But most of all, she loved that she had friends. Friends who played with her and spent time with her. For Yukiko, Oto was perfect.

It was a perfect day. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and the few clouds in the sky provided the perfect amount of shade for an seven year old. Yukiko sat at the edge of the stream, her small bare feet dipped into the shallow water. The academy had just been let out and now she was waiting for her father to finish his work so they could have dinner. Some bushes rustled not far away, causing Yukiko to jerk her head and see who was coming.

From the bushes a young girl emerged. Her blond hair hung to her shoulders and was held back by the forehead protector engraved with a musical note. Yukiko grinned and waved at the girl.

"Mika! You're back!" Yukiko cried. Mika sat down next to the younger girl and smiled. "How was your mission?" She asked eagerly.

"It was easy. We just escorted some guy to a nearby village." Mika said. "What are you doing here Yukiko? You're usually with your father right now." Yukiko's smile faltered a bit before she answered.

"Daddy has to work late today. I'm waiting for him to finish." Yukiko kicked her feet lightly causing the stream to splash. Beside her, Mika took out a kunai and idly turned it in her hands.

"You know, Yukiko, you're very lucky." Mika muttered. Yukiko stopped splashing and looked at her friend.

"Why?" The small girl asked with genuine curiosity.

"Because," Mika began, "You have a family that loves you and friends who care for you." Yukiko frowned at her words.

"But you have friends too Mika!" She countered. Mika shook her head,

"I don't have any family though." She whispered. Yukiko's eyes started to water and she leaned over and gripped Mika in a hug. She held onto the older girl as tightly as possible.

"Don't be sad Mika. You can be my sister. I'll get daddy to adopt you, and we'll be best friends forever!" Yukiko looked up at Mika, expecting the girl to be happy. Instead, Mika was sneering at the smaller girl and pushed her away.

"You think I would want him as a father? That man is the one who had my family killed! It's all his fault I can't be happy." Yukiko stumbled back, her eyes wide as she stared at her long time friend.

"Mika, what are you-" Yukiko was interrupted by the Kunai in Mika's hand as it flew by and left a gash on her arm.

"Now I'm going to take away his happiness!" Mika screamed.

Yukiko stumbled and fell onto her back as Mika made her approach. The genin had taken another kunai from her weapon pouch and was poised to kill.

"Goodbye Yukiko. I always hated you." She threw the weapon.

If the kunai had landed in its target, Yukiko would have died in seconds. But in the moment before it did, the small girl rolled out of the way and grabbed the weapon that had landed with a thunk in the grass. Mika came at her with yet another of the weapons. Yukiko barely managed to bring up the one she held in time to block it. The clash was short. Mika jumped away when she knew she had been deflected.

Yukiko trembled. A full on fight was too much for a seven year old academy student. She held out the kunai with shaking hands, trying to prepare herself for the oncoming assault.

Mika shook too, but with an anticipation of the kill to come. At long last she would be able to avenge her family. Her beloved family who had been killed at the orders of Sasuke Uchiha. The anticipation was bubbling inside her. She just wanted to kill the little wretch and get it over with.

Mika lunged, madness consuming her. When she had almost reached the pathetic child, she screamed and dropped her kunai to grip her stomach. Blood pooled from the fresh wound. Mika looked up. Yukiko stood not a foot away, the kunai she had held was now embedded in Mika's intestines. The older girl fell to the ground gripping the area around the wound. She was going to die.

"He killed them." Mika forced out gripping her stomach. "And you finished the job." She inhaled a sharp breath and began coughing, blood mixed with her spittle.

Yukiko watched helplessly as her best friend bled to death on the ground. She could only stare wide eyed as the girl she had spent so much time with took her last breath. Yukiko fell to her knees and grabbed the dead body, trying to hold on to something that had never truly been there.

Three hours later, after searching all over Otogakeru, Sasuke stumbled upon the sight. Yukiko was gripping a corpse, weeping and muttering apologies to the now dead genin. Sasuke tried to pull his daughter from the dead body, but she refused to let go.

"No! I can't let her go away. I have to save her! Daddy, let me save her! Please!" Sasuke gripped his daughter as she burst into hysterics. He managed to pry her from the bloody corpse, but she just continued to shout.

"You can adopt her, and she'll be my sister and we'll be best friends forever and she'll be happy and have a family! I just have to get her. Daddy, just let me get her. She needs me, Daddy!" Sasuke gripped his daughter.

"Yukiko, she's gone." He whispered. Yukiko paused for a moment and turned to her father. The once coal black eyes had changed color. No longer did her eyes have a deep abyss that drew everyone in. Now her eyes were a dark crimson, and the telltale sign of the magenyeko sharingan stared back at her father. Sasuke pulled her into a tight embrace as the small girl sobbed into his shirt.

The bloodstained body of Miko watched with lifeless eyes as a father comforted his daughter, who would forever have this moment ingrained in her memory.


	4. Chapter 4

**Note:** Updating all the time. I really want to get this finished. Also: Yes, there will be some holes in the plot. They can and will be covered later.

Once Upon a Time

The horse drawn wagon was in no way comfortable. And nine year old Yukiko was already tired of the long bumpy ride. She looked around and saw several of the team sent to guard the merchant caravan walking alongside it. She supposed riding was preferable to walking the entire distance to Konoha, but she still wished it were more comfortable. She shifted in her seat and sighed.

"We'll be there before you know it." The older man sitting beside Yukiko said. He gave her a pat on the head and continued. "Just be glad your father decided to travel with the caravan and not walk. There's no way the new Otokage would have let him go without an escort party. And then it would have taken days instead of hours." Yukiko frowned at the man. Sho had been her bodyguard for the past year and a half and she appreciated his company and his advice. But sometimes she just wanted to be allowed to mope.

"But Sho, I still don't see why we have to leave. Why my father had to step down. We had a good life in Oto!" She complained. Sho watched the young girl as she slouched over and rested her hands on her fists, obviously unhappy with her new situation.

"You already know why. Sasuke took the position of Otokage only under the condition that he could return to Konoha in five years. He got Oto up and running again. And he found someone who could run the city better than he could. Oto is a better place now." Sho explained to the girl for the third time that week. He knew she knew what he was going to say, but it was the only thing he could say to Yukiko without upsetting her more. "His five years are up. So now the two of you are going back to Konoha." Yukio let out another sigh.

"It just seems pointless. I like Oto. I have friends. I barely know anyone in Konoha. Father just doesn't understand." Yukiko fumed.

"Haven't you thought about how your father feels about all of this?" Sho asked. Yukiko looked up at him.

"No. But I suppose he's just looking forward to going back." Yukiko bit back. "Not like he had anything back in Oto."

"He gave up more than you think when he decided to come to Oto." Sho said.

"I don't see how that makes a difference." Yukiko huffed.

"Look, I'm not really the person you should be hearing this from," Sho began, glancing around. "But your father had to make up for many of his past mistakes before they even let him set foot in Konoha again. He worked hard to make that village his home and make sure he could take care of his family. He left half of his family behind because a few desperate people from Oto begged him to help the village. I'm surprised he even accepted. There wasn't much of a reason for him to leave everything behind. Not after all he did to make things right. So don't be angry that he wants to go back."

"He never... Father never told me how much he left behind." Yukiko whispered. "I'm being selfish, aren't I?" She asked.

"Everyone is, at some point." Sho countered. "I'm selfish in wanting the both of you to stay. I simply chose not to act on it."

"You really want us to stay?" Yukiko asked, eyes bright.

"The whole village wants you to stay. Your father is a great leader. And you've become something of a princess in the eyes of the people. It's hard to see you go."

"Then why hasn't anyone said anything? Why haven't you told father you want us to stay?" She asked, somewhat thrown off by Sho's blunt comments.

"Because," Sho said. "We know that it isn't where you belong. Everyone may want you in Oto, but I think you'll find Konoha a better fit. Just trust me. It's going to be your home, even if you don't think so now."

"Yeah. We'll see." Yukiko said. She leaned back and looked ahead. In the distance she could see the tall walls of Konoha looming. Perhaps it could be home. In time.


	5. Chapter 5

First Day

Yukiko gripped her father's hand with strength he didn't realize she had. Her head was bowed and averted, as if she was trying her best to disappear from the situation. Not ten feet away stood Konoha Academy. Sasuke tried to get his daughter moving, but she refused to budge.

"Come on Yukiko. Your brother is already inside waiting for you. Don't you want to see him?" Sasuke asked gently while trying to pry the girl's fingers from his hand. She had never been this clingy or physical back in Oto. Yukiko shook her head fervently.

"I don't want go Dad." She whispered. Sasuke ruffled her hair slightly.

"But you loved going to the Academy back in Oto." He reassured.

"It's different." She muttered and clung to him tighter.

"Why? All the kids will want to be your friend and you'll get to have class with your brother." Yukiko took a moment to consider what her father said before shaking her head again.

"I still don't want to." She said. "I want to go back to Oto. Please, Dad." She begged. Sasuke sighed. His daughter could be impossible sometimes.

"You'll be fine. Besides, what makes this place so bad?" Sasuke was expecting his daughter to remain silent, but she spoke quietly and quickly in a voice much more sad than the way she had sounded moments before.

"Because I don't like the way they stare at me when I walk down the street. They hate me, I can tell. Nobody wants me here because they hate me. The kids will all pick on me and I won't have any friends and Kazuki won't do anything because everyone loves him so it won't mater to him." She took in a breath after her short monologue and waited for her father's reply.

Sasuke knelt down and pulled his only daughter into a hug. She gripped her father's shirt, trying to hold on to the only person she knew who really loved her. Sasuke kissed her forehead and squeezed her lightly.

"They don't hate you. They just don't know you. Once you meet them, you'll be friends and then you'll feel silly for thinking they hate you." Yukiko pulled away from her father.

"But-"

"No buts. They'll love you like I do."

"Promise?" She whispered lightly.

"I promise." Sasuke replied. "Now let's get you to class. No use being later than you have to be." Sasuke grabbed Yukiko's hand and led her slowly into the academy. They came to a door and Sasuke knocked.

"Coming!" Someone shouted from behind the door. It opened slightly to reveal a man who looked well past his prime. He had gray streaks in his brown hair, and the scar over his nose had faded with age.

"Sasuke! What a surprise. I wasn't expecting you here for another few weeks." Sasuke shrugged.

"Plans change. I'm here now. Can she come join the class?" Iruka looked down at the girl who clung to her father, trembling with nerves. He smiled at her warmly and kneeled down.

"Hello Yukiko. My name is Iruka. I'm going to be your new sensei. Why don't we go in and you can meet your classmates. I'm sure they'll love you." Yukiko stopped trembling at his words and nodded slightly. She let go of her father's leg and took a step away. Iruka opened the door for her to enter. She followed right behind him, but stopped just in time to turn and wave to her father.

"Bye Dad!" She said, beginning to smile.

"Goodbye, Little Moon." He responded. She rushed into the room to catch up to Iruka, the door closing behind her. Sasuke turned and left the Academy, his hands in his pockets. The old rope swing that Naruto had loved so much still hung from the tree. Sasuke approached it. He sat down on the swing after a moment's consideration.

"I hope they don't hate you, Yukiko." He whispered almost to himself. "Because if they do, it's all my fault.


	6. Chapter 6

**Note:** I had assumed I had all the chapters written. But it seems that every other chapter or so I have to write something else to fill in the gaps that I hadn't already explained. This is one of them. So more for you all.

Firstborn

Everything was going horribly wrong. Yukiko wished she had her father's speed. But a ten year old girl was no where near as fast as the Anbu captain. She raced along the road next to Kazuki, straining to keep up with her younger brother. Ahead of them, the Hokage - No. Naruto - seemed to be merely walking, though it was obvious from his posture that he too wanted to hurry. Though he had taken up the task of escorting the twins to the hospital. Yukiko frowned at Hiraku, Naruto's son. He seemed to be able to keep up with his father just fine. How was he so fast? She and Kazuki were putting all their energy into running. But he barely looked winded. Hiraku looked back at Yukiko and paused for a moment, until he was beside her.

"My mother taught me." He said, answering her unspoken complaint. "She has amazing Chakra control. And she was never as fast as Dad. So she taught herself how to speed up by applying small bursts of Chakra to her steps. Don't try now. But I can get her to teach you, if you want." He offered. Yukiko looked at her friend and shook her head.

"No. I'll get fast on my own." She remarked, obviously aggravated. They turned a corner and the hospital came into view. It was a rather large building, but as they approached, Yukiko became nervous. She disliked being healed or going to the doctor. The hospital was most everything she didn't like all in one building. But she continued inside, slowing down because Naruto had. The nurse at the front desk nearly jumped when she saw the blond man.

"Hokage-sama! Is there something I can help you with?" She blurted out, her words jumbled as she stared wide eyed at the leader of the village.

"I need to know what room Hinata Uchiha is in. Now." Naruto said. The nurse nodded and quickly went through the files.

"Ahh, yes. It says here that she's been moved into operating room two. It seems-" The nurse stopped talking when she realized that the Hokage and the three children accompanying him were already halfway down the hall. As they neared the operating rooms, another nurse appeared.

"Hokge-sama, I see you're back. There were some difficulties, so they moved her into the operating room. You'll have to remain in the waiting room until Sakura is finished." Naruto frowned, but led the children into a nearby room. Inside, Sasuke Uchiha was sitting in a chair, his fists clenched and staring angrily at the floor. He looked up when they entered.

"Dad! What happened with Mom!" Yukiko said, running over to her father. His anger faded, though he kept his fists clenched. Kazuki came to stand beside her.

"Will Mother be okay?" He asked, his voice clam, though there was worry in his milky eyes.

"I don't know." Sasuke whispered. He pulled his children close and looked up to Naruto. "Sakura said there's only a fifty percent chance she'll survive. They're doing all they can." Naruto approached the family and placed a hand on Sasuke's shoulder.

"If there's one thing I do know," Naruto began, "It's that my wife tends to beat the odds when she's healing. She saved you, didn't she?" He grinned at Sasuke, but his friend remained grim.

"Yukiko." Hiraku said, grabbing the girl's hand. She looked over to the blond boy, her eyes wide with fear. He gently led her to a seat and sat beside her, his hand never leaving hers. "You mom will be okay." He said.

"You don't know that." Yukiko said, her voice low. "I've barely had time to get to know her and now she's going to die." She held back the tears that were brimming in her eyes.

"I know my dad doesn't make stuff up. If he thinks my mom can save your mom, then she will. Don't lose hope." Hiraku looked over at the two fathers, who were now sitting silently. Kazuki had moved to a corner of the room where he could easily see the door and leaned agains the wall, his posture somehow perfect despite the fact that he was doing so. He wished there was more he could do. Some way that he could really contribute. But there wasn't. Not now while he was still just a ninja in training. Maybe one day he could be a great medic nin like his mother and save people. Because right now that was all he wanted to do.

The room was silent for an hour, until Yukiko couldn't take just sitting and worrying anymore and began to pace the room. Walking in a perfect square around the chairs. She silently counted each of her steps. Trying to think of anything that would keep her mind off of her mother's impending doom. Kazuki slumped to the floor, still staring at the door. Sasuke and Naruto remained silent, though even in the stillness they seemed to be communicating something. And Hiraku... He had removed a large book from his backpack and was furiously reading. Yukiko glanced at it as she passed him. She raised her eyebrows. It seemed to be some kind of textbook. A complex one at that. With intricate diagrams and fine print. When she passed him again she realized that it was a medical textbook. The boy was interesting. That was for sure.

Yukiko had no idea how many hours had passed when the door to the waiting room finally opened. A nurse came in, holding a clipboard to her chest. All eyes were on her, though she spoke to Sasuke.

"Your wife made it." She said. A heavy weight seemed to lift from the entire room, and Yukiko nearly cried with delight. "And the baby is doing well. We'll need to keep him in intensive care for now, but in a week he should be ready to go home. You can see your wife now. Though only two visitors at a time." She said sternly, eyeing the children.

Inside the hospital room, Yukiko could hear the steady beeping of the machines hooked up to her mother. She and Kazuki had waited patiently while her father went into the room first. When he emerged, relieved and at ease, the two children walked quietly into the dark room and approached their mother's bed.

She looked awful, as though something terrible had just happened to her. Yukiko had to remind herself that something awful had happened to her mother. But Hinata smiled a weak smile at her two children.

"How are you feeling, Mother?" Kazuki asked, the slightest hint of concern in his voice.

"I'm doing better." Their mother said with a sigh. "Though I can't wait to go to sleep." Yukiko smiled.

"When can you come home?" Yukiko asked, stepping towards the bed and taking her mother's hand.

"In a few days." Hinata replied. "Your father wants to stay here with me, so the two of you will be staying with Naruto and Sakura until we come home." Yukiko shook her head.

"Can't we stay too?" She pleaded. The thought of something happening to her mother in the night, of waking up to discover her mother was dead frightened Yukiko. "We'll behave. I promise!"

"You have school. And I know that hospital chairs are not good beds. I'm going to be fine. I just need rest. I'll be home before you know it." Hinata gripped her daughter's hand. "Besides, you'll want all the sleep you can get. Once Jirou comes home, sleep will be hard to get." She smiled at the look of disgust on her two eldest children's faces. "You will get used to it." she reassured. Yukiko was not very hopeful.

When they left, Yukiko met Hiraku's eyes. He smiled at her and she couldn't help but smile back. Sasuke approached her.

"Yukiko, I need you to be strong." He said so only she could hear. She looked up into her father's eyes and saw the concern.

"Your mother won't be back to normal for a while. And with your little brother around, thing will get difficult. But I know you can handle it." She nodded.

"I will Dad." Yukiko said. "Besides, now that I have two little brothers, I get to brag even more about being firstborn." She grinned as her father let out a small chuckle.

"Of course." He agreed smiling down at her. "You aren't going to let anyone forget that."

"Nope." Yukiko said, her eyes gleaming with delight. "Not ever."


	7. Chapter 7

Wish Upon a Star

Night always made Konoha peaceful. The loud bustling village seemed to slowly slip into silence when the sun set. Even those coming back from missions late stilled upon entering the gates. Yukiko silently stepped out of her house, closing the door slowly to avoid making much noise. She glanced around quickly before setting out into the street, walking briskly. In a few minuted she came to a tall building and paused.

"Hiraku." She whispered. She glanced around and sighed. "Hiraku!" she said a little louder. A small shuffling came from above and Yukiko looked up. From the roof the blond emerged.

"Yukiko!" He grinned down at the girl. "Come up the fire escape!" He pointed to the rather rusty looking fire escape on the side of the building. Yukiko frowned.

"Yes. Because that thing looks sturdy." She responded. But she went over to the fire escape and tested it with her foot. When it didn't collapse, she climbed until she was at the top, and stepped onto the roof. Hiraku had sprawled out in the middle, staring up at the stars. Yukiko rolled her eyes and went to join him, laying so her head was beside his, but her body was in the opposite direction of his.

"I'm glad you came." Hiraku said. Yukiko laughed.

"Of course I came. Anything is better than waking up at two in the morning when my little brother wakes up crying." She sighed. "I mean, he's cute and all. But for once I'd like to sleep through the night. Anyway, why did you want to meet here?"

"It's a good view of the stars. And pretty easy to get to at night. I figured you could use some time to relax."

"Thanks. I really appreciate it." Yukiko said, a small smile gracing her face.

"Is everything okay though?" Hiraku asked, a hint of apprehension in his voice.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you've been distant. Like when you first came here. You aren't talking as much, and you barely ever smile. Did something happen?" Hiraku waited for Yukiko's response. She was silent for several minutes before she responded.

"I don't know." She whispered. "It's been almost two years since I came here. Things are different now. I have friends. I have my family together." She took a deep breath. "I have you. But I just can't help but wonder if this is where I belong. If Konoha really is my home."

"So you want to go back to Oto." Hiraku said. Yukiko could hear the pain in his statement.

"No." She said. "I don't. Oto wouldn't seem like home either, since I've been gone so long. It just seems like there really isn't anywhere where I belong. Like I'm just out of place."

"But you aren't." Hiraku said simply. "It's easy to feel alone and out of place. But if you really look, I'm sure you see that you're right where you belong."

"It's kind of hard when half the village hates my guts. And don't try to tell me that they don't because I'm not stupid, Hiraku. I can feel their looks. I can hear their whispers. They want me gone just like they want my father gone." Yukiko said.

"The village used to hate my dad too." Hiraku said. "Because he has the nine tailed fox sealed inside him. He couldn't help it, but they hated him anyway. And now look. He's the Hokage and everyone respects him." Yukiko let out a soft laugh.

"What if I was the next Hokage?" She suggested, laughing as she spoke. Her laughter slowly died and realization dawned upon her. "Hiraku! What if I really did become Hokage? I mean, it would be hard. But if I was, no one would hate me anymore!" She glanced over at the boy and grinned. "Do you think I could do it?"

"Become Hokage? Of course!" Heiraku said. "If there's one thing I know, it's that when you set your mind to something, you do it. If you want to become Hokage, I know you will." He turned and the two smiled at each other for a moment.

"I'm going to become Hokage." Yukiko said, speaking the words softly as if it were a vow.

"Just promise me something." Hiraku said. Yukiko rolled her eyes.

"Of course. What?" She asked.

"Marry me." Hiraku said. "Not now, of course. But before you become Hokage. Maybe when we turn eighteen." He glanced over to see Yukiko staring up at the stars.

"That was my plan anyway." She responded lightly. "Seven years, give or take. And we can get married. And then I'll be Hokage." Yukiko closed her eyes, imagining a future where she was no longer hated by the village. It gave her hope. But more importantly, it gave her a goal. A goal she was determined to reach, no matter the cost.

* * *

><p><strong>Note: <strong>I try to include age jumps when I can. Just look for them. Also, my characters are young right now. They still have much to learn. So don't be too harsh on illogical thoughts or crazy ideas. Those are the best part about being a kid!


	8. Chapter 8

Priceless

The cool metal was pressed firmly into her palm. She clutched the cloth and steel to her chest as she ran into the house, shouting for her father.

"Dad! Dad look, I got my headband!" Yukiko looked around, frantic to find some trace of her father in the house. He had promised that he would be there when she got home, and yet he seemed to be missing. Yukiko slowed her pace until she was barely shuffling through the empty hallway. She came to the door that led outside into the back yard. She opened it and stepped out into the bright sunlight. Small black eyes wandered around the trees until they came to the hammock that hung from two old oak trees.

Her father slept peacefully in the hammock. One of his arms covered his eyes from the sun while another was dangling limply over the side of the hammock. Yukiko took a few tentative steps forward, unsure of the consequences that would result if she woke her father from his slumber.

When Yukiko reached the hammock, she paused, as if thinking about what to do next. After a moment, she took a step back and leapt into the hammock on top of her father. He grunted at the weight that suddenly landed on him and opened his eyes. Yukiko grinned at the man who seemed grumpy for having been woken.

"I got my headband Dad." She whispered as she lay against her father. He smiled lightly and patted the top of her head, glancing at the metal engraved with the leaf symbol in his daughter's hand.

"Didn't I tell you that you would?" He asked lightly. She nodded.

"Yeah, but you never know." They lay there for a moment before Yukiko spoke again.

"I hope my team is nice." She muttered. Her father grinned.

"You'll be fine with whoever you're put with." Yukiko rolled her eyes.

"No way! If I end up on a team with some jerk I don't know how I'll handle it!"

"Don't worry. They won't put you on a team with someone who you can't get along with."

"Dad?" Yukiko asked softly.

"Yes."

"Thanks for believing in me." Yukiko let her head rest on her father's chest and slowly drifted off to sleep.

Sasuke watched his only daughter with soft eyes. This would be the last of a few moments with her while she was still so innocent. Naive to the harsh world she would step into when the sun rose tomorrow. She was taking a road in life he would never wish on her, but she chose it anyway

But for now, before the war and pain came, before the reality of death set in and she knew what it was like to kill without feeling remorse, he would hold his daughter close and smile at her innocence.

This moment, this blink in his life that he would treasure until the day he died, was priceless.

* * *

><p><strong>Note: <strong>Yukiko is still very much a child for now. Her innocence isn't corrupted. Yet.


	9. Chapter 9

Mission Accomplished

Of all the new Genin Teams, Team Five was probably destined to be the greatest. Naruto looked at the three Genin, glad he had pushed to have them placed together in a team. On the left, looking rather bored but standing perfectly still and at attention was Kazuki Uchiha. He might have had his mother's hair and eyes, but his father's features were just barely distinguishable. Naruto grinned. He would be a looker when he finally grew into his awkwardly lanky body. On the right, his own son grinned. Hiraku took after his mother, intelligent but overly open and friendly. His hair was a lighter blond than Naruto's, and contrasted with the striking green eyes of his mother. Naruto watched as his son's gaze roamed around the room, but lingered most on their third teammate. So there was something there. At least on one side of things.

And in the middle of the two relatively calm boys, Yukiko looked like she was about to run and jump out the window. Her foot was tapping impatiently, and despite her aggravation at having to wait, she had a grin plastered across her face. She was excited. Naruto watched her as she stood before him, never ceasing movement. One moment her hands were in her pockets, the next she was running her fingers through her short hair. She simply couldn't stop moving. Finally she sighed.

"I don't think he's going to show up." She said, obviously upset.

"I'm sure your sensei will be here soon. Don't worry." Naruto grinned as Kazuki rolled his eyed.

"He hasn't been on time. Not even once. I doubt he'll even show up." The boy glanced over at the clock hanging on the wall. "It is before noon, after all."

"I think he'll be here." Hiraku said, turning to his father. "Right dad? You told him to be here. And he has to, since you're the Hokage."

"Well, you see," Naruto began, hoping to come up with some sort of explanation for the lack of their teacher. "Just because I'm-" He was interrupted as the door to the office opened.

"Finally!" Yukiko shouted, exasperated. The attention of the room shifted off Naruto and onto the man that entered.

"Tch. You could have assigned the mission later." Came the drawl of Shikamaru Nara. Naruto laughed.

"And have your team waiting even longer? No." Naruto said. Shikamaru stood behind his new team and sighed. Teaching children was troublesome.

"Can we please just have our mission?" Yukiko said, rolling back and forth on the balls of her feet so she rose and fell a few inches. The girl was eager. Overly eager in a way that made Naruto grin.

"Yes, yes. Just moment." He glanced over the papers on his desk until he laid eyes on the scroll he was looking for. "Ahh, here it is. You see, there's this cat..."

.~.~.~.

Shikamaru was going to kill Naruto. Or at least find a way to get Sakura to do it. First he had insisted Shikamaru do his "duty to the village" and train a genin team. Now he was watching as three very inexperienced children ran around the village, trying to catch a cat.

He had given them some basic instructions, guided them into the best tactical solution, and even told them the best way to approach an insane old cat that was afraid of people. Things had gone well at first. For being so eager and excited, Yukiko was the most serious about it. She listened with rapt attention and watched as he plotted a path for each of them to take. Kazuki didn't seem to care. He listened, but Shikamaru doubted he would try and act as a part of the team. That would need some work soon. But Hiraku. Bless the poor boy's soul. He was acting nearly worthless. For all the skills he had developed at an early age, which Shikamaru knew about far too well, he was content to stare at Yukiko and not listen to a word anyone else was saying.

And now the two boys were chasing the cat down the street, Hiraku in some insane attempt to impress Yukiko and Kazuki to prove that he was better than both of them. When the plan fell to ruins, Yukiko had initially given chase as well, but she was slower than her teammates, and stopped when she realized she would not catch up.

Shikamaru watched from one of the rooftops as Yukiko caught her breath and closed her eyes. She was listening, he realized as she tilted her head to the left, towards the commotion being caused by the two boys and the cat. Yukiko glanced around for a moment before heading through a small alley, perpendicular to the two genin and the cat. For a moment, Shikamaru was impressed. Perhaps there was hope for the team after all.

Yukiko glanced around the corner of the alley and rolled her eyes. Sometimes boys could be so stupid. And her teammates were acting rather stupid. She wasn't as strong as them, or nearly as fast. But at least she had a brain. The cat was several feet in front of them, and yowling madly. They had made it upset and now it wasn't likely to stop running. But she stepped out of the alley and crouched down on one knee anyway. As the cat approached, she held out her hands and waited. As it was about to pass, she reached out and grabbed the scruff of its neck, tight enough to have a good grip, but not in a way that would harm it.

She winced as the cat screeched even louder, but pulled it out of the way as the two boys went barreling past, noticing too late that Yukiko had grabbed the cat. It struggled in her grip, claws extended to scratch her. Yukiko held it at arm's length and stared into the cat's eyes.

"Now you stop it." She said firmly, as if talking to a child. "I'm not going to hurt you. So be quiet. The cat ceased its noise making, but kept its claws extended. "Good." She said. With her free hand, she scratched under the cat's chin until it was calm. She took it in her arms and began walking towards the rest of her team. Shikamaru jumped down from a building while Hiraku and Kazuki approached from down the road. She glanced over to see a curious look on her sensei's face.

"My Dad likes cats." Yukiko shrugged. "He let me take in a stray back at Oto." She heard Shikamaru chuckle, but continued walking towards the Hokage tower. She had successfully completed her first mission as a ninja. Things were looking up.

* * *

><p><strong>Note:<strong> I imagine Shikamaru got stuck with the most troublesome team because he kept sleeping through boring meetings.


	10. Chapter 10

**Note:** This took a while. College life is busy.

Grasshopper

It was five in the morning and Yukiko would give anything to be back in bed. She glanced around the empty training area and sighed. This was the only time she had to herself during the day. And more than anything, she knew she needed to train more. She was slow, compared to her team, and she just didn't have the same force behind her blows as the boys did. As much as she disliked the early morning, she needed to be stronger.

She began her morning routine with what little determination she could muster in the darkness of the morning. Yukiko started with push ups. She glared at the ground as she forced herself to continue pushing herself away from the ground, despite the ache in her shaking arms. A sound from the edge of the clearing made her look up, but she didn't stop. She was surprised to see a rather strange man. He was clad in a green jumpsuit with orange legwarmers. The jounin approached, though he stood at a distance, silently watching her.

"What." Yukiko groaned out as she pushed her body upwards. "Do you want?" She dipped down, breathing deeply as she kept herself just above the ground.

"I can wait until you are finished. It is not polite to interrupt someone in the middle of exercise." The man said. Yukiko finished her last pushup and nearly collapsed on the ground. But she refrained from doing so in front of the older ninja.

"I'm done." She said, standing up. He was still much taller than her, but she held her head high. "So what do you want?"

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Rock Lee. Your sensei wanted to help you with taijutsu training, but he didn't feel he would be the best teacher. He asked if I would be willing to help you with your morning training." Lee gave her a fantastically ridiculous. Yukiko was surprised. Shikamaru had always seemed apathetic when it came to training their team individually. Apparently he wasn't as lazy as she first assumed.

"I'm doing just fine. Thanks, but no thanks." Yukiko replied. The man was rather strange and she wanted to be left alone while she trained.

"Shikamaru also mentioned that you've been trying to work on your speed. I can help you, if you want." Lee continued, not at all put off by Yukiko's rejection. For a moment, Yukiko considered taking his offer, but she shook her head.

"I don't need your help. Can you please just leave me alone?" She said, rolling her eyes.

"If you do not want my help, that is fine. But the offer still stands." Lee responded. She rolled her eyes, and in a flash, he was on the other side of the clearing, leaning against a tree. Surprised, Yukiko turned, only to have him disappear and reappear in the corner of her vision. When she finally turned to see him, Lee was smiling just as he had before. She could hardly believe the goofy looking man was that fast. She wouldn't be surprised if he was as fast, or perhaps even faster, than her father.

"You know," Yukiko began. "I might just take you up on your offer after all."

.~.~.~.~.

"Keep running, Yukiko-chan! Only one hundred more laps until we are done for today!" Lee shouted from in front of her. Yukiko groaned. It was five thirty in the morning and she was sick and tired of running laps around the entire village. She had been training with Lee for just over three weeks, but not once had it been easy. The very first day, the green clad man had given Yukiko a hefty set of leg and arm weights to wear during her training. Since then it had been non-stop running laps around the village and intense taijutsu training. And all of that was on top of her regular training with her team. Yukiko felt exhausted.

"Can't we just stop?" Yukiko asked, trying to keep up with Lee. "We've already run two hundred laps! I can barely move!"

"That means you need to keep going!" Lee shouted. "Don't give up, Yukiko-chan. If you work hard and train every day, you'll be as fast as me soon!" She let out another groan and continued running.

When they had finished, Yukiko collapsed on the ground, no longer caring to impress Lee. The man was insane, she was sure.

"I'm done with this." She moaned, barely able to raise her arms. "If I never have to run around this village again, my life will be perfect." She glanced over at Lee who was still bright and full of energy.

"Oh, Yukiko-chan. I'm sure you will be fine. Besides, tomorrow we add more weights!" Lee replied, giving her the signature "Nice Guy" pose she had come to dread. Yukiko let out a sigh.

"More? I just added more two days ago!" She complained.

"And you are progressing quickly. You need the weights if you want to get faster." Lee reminded her, wiggling his large eyebrows.

"Fine." Yukiko muttered. Lee laughed.

"You might not have been born fast, but I'll make sure you become one of the fastest ninjas Konoha has ever seen!" He flashed her another smile and Yukiko couldn't help but grin.

"Yeah. Okay." She said with a laugh.

"Now, it is time to focus on taijutsu!" Lee shouted. Yukiko got to her feet and rolled her eyes.

"You really are going to kill me." She groaned. But with that, she continued training with her overly charismatic instructor. Despite the pain she was dealing with on a daily basis, and the exhaustion that was overwhelming her, she wouldn't have it any other way.


	11. Chapter 11

**Note: **This update is later than what I had hoped for. My apologies. I had trouble deciding what should come next. Anyway, enjoy.

Teamwork

"This is going to be epic!" Yukiko whispered in excitement. With a pull, she hefted herself over the fence and dropped down on the other side. When her two teammates didn't follow, she scowled and jumped back on the fence so that the top of her head appeared over the edge.

"What are you two doing? Come on!" she whispered at them. Hiraku shrugged and took a few steps back.

"Are you sure about this? We could get in a lot of trouble for this." He replied. Yukiko grinned.

"We only get in trouble if we get caught! Now hurry! I want to get this done." With a sigh Hiraku ran at the fence, he jumped right before he reached it. His outstretched hands met the top of the fence. With a push, he vaulted over sailing through the air to land with a thump on the ground. Kazuki rolled his eyes.

"I don't see why we're even bothering with this. It's pointless, like throwing punches in the wind." He said, his voice the same bland tone he always used.

"Come on. Shikamaru-sensei said you needed to work on being a member of the team. Well we're doing this as a team. So come on!" Yukiko said. She stepped back from the fence as Kazuki climbed the fence, his body moving in one fluid motion as he landed softly on the ground. Yukiko grinned and turned away from the fence which her brother had just climbed over to the small dirt path in front of them.

"Let's get going!" She said with glee. The three went in silence along the path until they reached a large wall.

"This is it then." Hiraku muttered. "No turning back now then." Yukiko opened the bag she was holding and tossed a can over to Hiraku. She grabbed another and threw it to her brother, who caught it easily.

"So here's the plan. We all start here. Kazuki will go to the right, and Hiraku will go to the left. I'll head over to the other side and start working my way towards Hiraku. Keep a lookout for guards. Make sure this looks good. It would be a shame if we went through all the trouble and we did sloppy work." Yukiko said, still grinning. She grabbed a can out of her bag and ran off, glad she had been training with Lee. Yukiko reached the other side of the compound quickly, and started her work at once. She shook the can of spray paint several times before she began her work.

The paint was bright pink and Yukiko couldn't help but giggle quietly as she drew vulgar pictures and wrote obscenities on the wall. Sure, she could have stuck with simple graffiti. But she needed to make a statement.

As the minutes passed, she grinned at her handiwork. she looked around to see Hiraku coming towards her. Yukiko grinned as she saw him painting as he went, covering the high walls wit his own pink paint. When he finally reached Yukiko, Hiraku grinned.

"Nice work. You seen Kazuki?" The blond asked. Yukiko shook her head.

"No. But we should go check on him." The two went around the walls, hoping to see Kazuki painting on the other side. But as they walked, Yukiko frowned.

"He should have gotten here by now." She said. A sound from atop the wall made both of the genin freeze. Yukiko looked up to see a guard atop the wall, looking out into the night. "Run!" She whispered, her eyes wide. Yukiko grabbed Hiraku's hand and pulled him along with her as she ran. A small part of her was filled with excitement when she realized that she was actually running faster than Hiraku. But anger and fear overwhelmed her. She did not need to get caught. The two out into the streets of Konoha, making their way through the less crowded alleys until they were near Yukiko's house.

"That jerk!" Yukiko nearly screeched. "He left us behind to get caught. I cannot believe him!" She kicked a rock on the ground and sent it flying.

"He might have just run when he realized someone was there." Hiraku said, holding onto Yukiko's hand.

"No. He could have warned us. He wanted me to get caught." Yukiko spat. "He's rotten. I don't see why he couldn't even have a little fun. I'm so tired of him being an awful teammate!"

"Don't let him get to you. You know he only does half of the stuff because it bothers you." Hiraku reasoned. Yukiko sighed.

"Well it works." She replied. "I think it's about time we get back. See you at training." Yukiko said, and embraced Hiraku. He smiled at her.

"Yeah. Good job. They won't know what hit them." Hiraku said. And with that the two parted for the night.

When Yukiko arrived at the table for breakfast the next morning, Kazuki merely raised an eyebrow at her. She ignored him and began eating. They both turned when their father came in through the front door. Sasuke sat down at the table and eyed his two eldest children. Hinata appeared, holding three year old Jirou. Jirou was squirming in his mother's grasp, wanting to be set down. When Hinata let him down, he ran over to the table and situated himself at the corner, between Yukiko and Kazuki.

"What was the disturbance about?" Hinata asked, seating herself at the table. Sasuke snorted.

"It seems some pranksters decided to paint the walls of the Huyyga compound last night. Bright pink and very profane." Sasuke said, his gaze turning to Yukiko. She met her father's eyes with a look of surprise.

"Really?" Yukiko asked. "Does anyone know why?"

"No." Sasuke replied, appraising his daughter. Yukiko did her best to remain neutral and not give anything away. But she knew her father could tell. He always seemed to know when she had misbehaved or done something wrong. Yukiko finished her breakfast quickly and took her plate to the kitchen. While she rinsed off her plate, her father came and stood beside her.

"So why did you do it?" He asked softly, so only Yukiko could hear. Yukiko shrugged.

"Grandfather shouldn't have called me ugly. Or weak." She replied simply. Sasuke frowned at his daughter as she finished washing her plate and set it over to the side to dry. Yukiko walked out the front door, her head held high. When had his little girl turned into a troublemaker?


	12. Chapter 12

Checkup

Yukiko hated the hospital. When she was younger, it had been creepy and ominous, but now that she was older, she detested the place. It was too clean, too sterile, and smelled like death covered in bleach. She avoided the place like the plague. But now she was back, sitting on an examination table and wishing she was anywhere else. the door opened and Yukiko tensed for a moment, but relaxed when she saw that it was Sakura Uzamaki who entered.

The older woman was interesting to say the least. Yukiko had first met her when she was seven. After the incident with Mika, her father had frantically sent letters out to the best healers in the area. Sakura was the first to respond. Upon seeing the pink haired woman, Yukiko had been somewhat relieved that it wasn't some scary doctor in a lab coat. She had been the one to explain to Yukiko that her bloodline would blind her, if used too much. Yukiko liked Sakura. She was nice, and understood that healing chakra could make someone very uncomfortable.

"I was wondering when you would come in." Sakura said with a smile. "Just because you don't like it, doesn't mean you don't need to get your eyes checked regularly, Yukiko. If not, we might not be able to help you if something serious develops." Yukiko shrugged.

"I've been busy." She replied, not meeting the older woman's eyes. Sakura put down the clip board she was carrying and stood before Yukiko.

"I know. Hiraku is barely home anymore, with all of these missions. I've told Naruto to lessen your load, but he insists that your team can handle it." Sakura sighed.

"We can." Yukiko affirmed, her face set. Sakura smiled at the determination in the young girl's eyes.

"Well, let's get this over with. I know you don't like this, so the quicker the better." Sakura said. She took a step closer to Yukiko and gently placed the tips of her fingers over Yukiko's eyes. Yukiko resisted the urge to squirm when she felt the uncomfortable sensation of Sakura's chakra invading her system. After a few minutes, Sakura took her hands away and picked up her clipboard.

"Have you been using your sharingan?" Sakura asked.

"On occasion." Yukiko said. "I try not to. But sometimes on missions or during training it just sort of happens. I'm better at controlling it now than I was before." Sakura nodded and scribbled something down.

"Have you been feeling any pain in your eyes?"

"No." Yukiko replied.

"That's good. How is your vision? Has it changed since last year?" Sakura looked up when Yukiko didn't respond. "Yukiko, you need to be honest with me. I'm just trying to help."

"Things are starting to get fuzzy." Yukiko said, her voice low. "It's nothing bad, but I have some trouble reading things far away now. And if I'm not careful, I can't hit a target properly with my weapons." Yukiko looked up at Sakura, her eyes beginning to water. "The sharingan makes it so easy to see. But I know using it just makes things worse. I'm afraid that I'll become dependent on it. And then go blind."

Sakura stared down at the girl. Yukiko was barely thirteen, and she was already worried to death about her eyes. Sakura couldn't help but hurt for her. She placed a hand on Yukiko's shoulder and squeezed.

"Don't worry. If you keep using the sharingan sparingly, you won't go blind. And you might need glasses. That way you won't be tempted to use your sharingan all the time." Sakura watched as Yukiko's eyes widened in horror.

"No. I don't need gasses!" She said, shaking her head. Yukiko had seen ninja with glasses. They looked terrible. And it was the first thing an enemy ninja would go for in a fight. She didn't need another weakness.

"You can get contacts instead." Sakura said, reassuring the girl. "You'll need to start off with glasses, but in a few months I'll make sure you get the right prescription contacts. I'm just not sure how they will react to your eyes, so we need to be careful." Yukiko's shoulders slumped.

"I'll be fine. I really don't need anything." She said half-heartedly. Sakura sighed.

"Your vision is being impaired. No ninja needs that. You need these glasses, Yukiko." Sakura said. She wished there was some way to help Yukiko. But even her healing chakra couldn't restore the damage done by the mangekyo sharingan. If the girl wasn't careful, she could go blind by the time she was twenty.

"Fine." Yukiko relented. "But they better look good." Sakura laughed.

"Of course." The older woman replied. "I'll go get a sight chart so we can see what prescription you need. Sakura walked out of the examination room, but paused when she closed the door. Inside she could hear Yukiko sobbing softly. Sakura closed her eyes and held back her own tears. The girl wasn't foolish. She knew everything they were doing was a temporary treatment for a very permeant condition. Yukiko would lose her vision, sooner or later. There was no way around it.


	13. Chapter 13

**Note:** Sorry for the long wait. Life gets busy. College is making me write papers and read into the night. Enjoy.

Out of the Bag

There were days when Yukiko was glad she had moved back to Konoha. She let out a loud laugh as she leaned against Hiraku. Training had been difficult, and with the added stress of her morning routine with Lee, she was nearly exhausted. But she couldn't help but laugh as Hiraku insulted her brother.

"You know, Kazuki. If you were going for the manly look, maybe growing your hair out wasn't the best idea." Hiraku taunted. Kazuki's shoulders stiffened, but he made no other sign that he had heard the blond. Yukiko rolled her eyes. Hiraku had been throwing insults at Kazuki for the past week. And the only ones that seemed to work were about his hair. Yukiko understood that Kazuki had chosen to grow out his hair because he had been training with many of the Hyuuga clan, and it was something of a tradition, but Hiraku's words made her uncomfortable. Her own hair was cropped short, just below her ears.

"Come on." She muttered, grabbing Hiraku's wrist and pulling him away from the training grounds. "Since you forgot my contacts, I need to pick them up." Hiraku sighed but followed Yukiko until they were away from Kazuki.

"What's up?" Hiraku questioned, removing his wrist from her grasp.

"Do you think I should have longer hair?" Yukiko said, her hand reaching up and grabbing the tips of her hair, twisting it between her fingers. Hiraku's eyes widened.

"No! Your hair is great. I only said that because Kazuki is afraid it makes him look girly. Which it does." Hiraku laughed. "But your hair is great. Don't worry." Yukiko smiled at him and shook her head. She frowned when her glasses slipped down her nose.

"I can't wait to get contacts." Yukiko pushed her glasses back up and sighed. "These are so annoying." The two continued their exchange until they came to a small house. They entered and Yukiko smiled at the smell that filled the house. It was warm and inviting, and Yukiko was sure that Hiraku's mother was cooking something.

"Hiraku! You forgot Yukiko's contacts. I even reminded you to bring them!" Came a shout from the kitchen.

"I know mom!" Hiraku replied, sighing heavily. "She came by to get them." Sakura appeared in the doorway, leaning around to see the two teenagers.

"Hello Yukiko! I'm sorry about Hiraku. The boy is more forgetful than his father." Sakura disappeared in the kitchen. "You're welcome to join us for dinner." Sakura yelled. Yukiko and Hiraku entered the kitchen to see Sakura scrambling around, trying to manage several different things at once.

"Do you need any help?" Yukiko asked at once. Sakura smiled.

"You have no idea how wonderful it is to hear someone say those words." Sakura glared at her son. "You should learn from her, Hiraku. It's polite to offer to help."

"But mom! Every time I try to-"

"No buts. Yukiko, if you don't mind cutting up these vegetables, I would really appreciate it" Sakura interjected. Yukiko laughed and grabbed the knife on the counter and began cutting the vegetables. Hiraku let out a sigh and pulled sat at the table.

"So how has training been going, Yukiko?" Sakura asked.

"Very well." Yukiko said. From behind her, Hiraku snorted.

"That's an understatement. She's fantastic." Hiraku said, beaming. Yukiko concentrated on cutting the vegetables as she felt her face turn red. A glance over at Sakura revealed that the older woman had a silly grin on her face.

"I mean, when we were first part of a team, Yukiko was the slowest. But she's faster than Kazuki. And even me, when I'm not using chakra. She's really doing great." Hiraku prattled on, oblivious to Yukiko's growing blush. The sound of the front door opening silenced Hiraku. In a flash, Naruto appeared in the kitchen, his arms encircling Sakura's waist.

"Work sucked." He murmured, is face buried in her hair. Yukiko saw Sakura's eye twitch.

"We have company." Sakura said, elbowing her husband in the gut.

"Sakura! Why are you so mean!" The grown man whined. Yukiko held back a laugh. For adults, Hiraku's parents acted like children pretty often. She watched as the two bickered for a moment, until Sakura landed a firm punch on Naruto's jaw.

"No make yourself useful. Set the table!" She pointed to the table and crossed her arms. Naruto looked dejected, but grabbed a stack of plates. "Help your father, Hiraku." Sakura said when she saw her son laughing at his father.

"Mom!" He whined.

"Don't Mom me." Sakura said, glowering at Hiraku. He sighed and helped his father with the dishes. Yukiko grinned. Hiraku's family might be chaotic and insane, but she always felt at home with them.

By the time the table was set, which took a surprisingly long time as Naruto and Hiraku fumbled their way around the kitchen, Sakura had finished preparing dinner, and they all took a seat. Yukiko sat across from Hiraku, a small smile on her face. It was almost idyllic, being here with their family. They settled into comfortable small talk, discussing the events of the day.

"And I have to set up the delegation for the chunin exams. They're in Lightning this year, and Bee keeps going on about how the last delegation was full of wimps. Though he only said that because Sasuke was there. But still." Naruto trailed off, glancing over at Yukiko apologetically.

"Not that your father is a wimp." He added hastily. "Well compared to me, yeah he is. But I'm the best ninja ever. So it's different. Don't you go telling him this, or he'll mope all week." Sakura frowned at her husband.

"Naruto, that's not very mature. You're the Hokage. It's your job to set a good example." Sakura said. "Ignore him, Yukiko. He's all talk." Yukiko grinned.

"It's fine." Yukiko muttered.

"So Hiraku mentioned that you've been improving a lot recently." Naruto managed through a mouthful of food. "Has your training with Lee been going well?" Yukiko lowered her head and blushed.

"Yeah." She replied. "It's difficult, but it's worth it." Hiraku leaned forward, his eyes wide.

"Wait. You've been training without the team?" He asked, concern on his face.

"Shikamaru-sensei wanted to help me increase my speed. So he asked Lee to help me." Yukiko explained, meeting Hiraku's eyes. the blond thought for a moment before smiling.

"Well that's good then. There's no way you could have become Hokage-" Hiraku winced when Yukiko's foot collided with his shin. Her eyes were wide with fear, as she quickly glanced between Naruto and Sakura.

"Um. I mean. Uhhh." Hiraku fumbled around for something to say, realizing what he had done. "I mean, you couldn't bum a joke eh?" Yukiko felt like crawling under the table. Hiraku could be a complete idiot sometimes. She glanced over to his father, who was smiling.

"So Hokage? It's not easy." Naruto said, leaning back in his chair. "But you can do it, if you try hard enough." Yukiko let out a sigh and smiled at the Hokage.

"Thank you." She said. A moment passed before Sakura spoke.

"Well then, I think now is a good time time to mention that the hospital needs more funding." She said, raising an eyebrow at Naruto. Her husband sighed.

"Are we really gonna talk politics at the table?" He moaned.

"Yes. We are." Sakura said, throwing a smile to Yukiko.

Dinner finished much less awkwardly than it could have, and Yukiko sighed as she listened to Sakura instruct her on how to use her contacts.

"And make sure you don't leave them in at night. They aren't made for that. If there are any problems or negative reactions, tell me at once. There's no record of how the sharingan will react to the solution. So be careful." Sakura said, handing over the box to Yukiko.

"I'll be careful." Yukiko said, taking the box. She was excited to finally be rid of her glasses. She held the box tightly and lowered her gaze. "Could you not tell anyone?" She mumbled. Sakura leaned forward.

"Not tell anyone what?" Sakura asked, concerned for the young girl. She looked frightened.

"About me wanting to... You know. Become Hokage." Yukiko glanced up at Sakura. She was biting her lip and her eyes appeared watery. Sakura was surprise to see this moment of weakness in Yukiko. While the girl could be quiet and polite, she usually reserved her fragile moments for when she was alone. Sakura knew that this was a level of trust that Yukiko would not even grant her father. And Sakura didn't know how to feel about it.

"Yukiko." Sakura said, her voice soft. Yukiko looked up into the older woman's eyes. "Your secret is safe with us."


	14. Chapter 14

**Note:** College again. Updates will hopefully come quicker after finals. I'm currently trying to find the right timeline for Yukiko's early teen years. There's just so much. Also, I went back and fixed up the end of the last chapter, since there was some confusion about Yukiko's "secret"

Checkmate

Hinata watched with anxious eyes as her husband and daughter bickered. They had been at if for nearly twenty minutes and neither side would relent. Yukiko stomped her foot and crossed her arms. Sasuke was clenching his fists and Hinata could tell he was holding himself back from yelling. He had mastered his temper well enough in the past few years. But Hinata could tell the fight would turn into a shouting match if she didn't intervene soon.

"I don't see why it matters!" Yukiko said, throwing her hands in the air. "It's not like anything is showing!"

"It matters because you are my daughter. And no daughter of mine is going out dressed like that!" Sasuke gestured to Yukiko and she scowled.

"It's just a shirt." She retorted. "It's not like I'm falling out of it or anything!" Her hands motioned towards her cleavage, which was completely covered.

"That's completely irrelevant." Sasuke said. "You've practically got your entire stomach showing. It's inappropriate!"

"I've got mesh on! It's basically covered. No one is going to be looking anyway!" Yukiko shouted.

"Of course people will be looking! You don't know boys your age like I do. All they'll see is a piece of meat. An easy piece of meat!" Sasuke yelled. Hinata made a step to intervene, but Yukiko was shouting, tears in her eyes.

"Oh thanks Dad. Way to call me a slut!" She turned to walk away, but Sasuke grabbed her shoulder.

"Don't you walk away from me. And you know that's not what I meant." His tone was dark, but Yukiko shook his hand off her shoulder and turned to face him.

"Yeah. But it's what you said. This shirt was a gift Dad. I'm wearing it because Ume asked me to. Not because I'm easy." She began walking away again, and stomped up the stairs. Sasuke let out an aggravated sigh.

"You should have let her go." Hinata said quietly.

"How can you say that? You know that shirt was completely inappropriate. We're supposed to make decisions together." Sasuke bit back.

"She was only going to wear it today. She told me so last night." Hinata replied. "She told me it made her uncomfortable. That's why she put on the mesh shirt." She took Sasuke's hand and held it.

"I just. I know that Uzamaki boy would be staring and she deserves more than that." He said, calming down.

"Then let her know in other ways. She's growing up. Let her make some decisions." Hinata said. Sasuke sighed.

"Fine. I understand." He said, still annoyed but calm now that his wife had spoken with him.

Yukiko was furious. She went through her drawers, throwing pieces of clothing across the room with great force as she spoke to herself.

"He. Is. So. STUPID!" She yelled, grabbing one of her plain shirts and heaving it over her shoulder. A low thump sounded, and she growled. She glanced down in the drawer and grinned. There at the bottom, wrinkled and wrapped in a ball was a bright orange tank top she had forgotten about. She never wore it. Orange was unsightly and too bright for a ninja to wear. But right now, it was perfect. She threw it on and began looking through her casually thrown clothes for something to go with it. Her father hated orange.

Her other clothes weren't much help. There was a reason she never wore the shirt. She glanced up to see one of her shirts hanging on the small knob that was used to pull down the attic ladder. She wondered for a moment. It was worth a try...

The attic hadn't been used in years. A thick layer of dust covered everything and Yukiko coughed as she breathed in the musty air. It was mostly boxes labeled for their purpose, but she caught sigh of an old trunk and bent down to inspect it. The lid opened with relative ease, though the dust in the air made Yukiko cough again. She saw two jackets and instantly recognized them as ones from her mother's childhood. She had seen enough pictures of her mother as a child to know they were hers. She moved those aside and frowned. It seemed to be a trunk of her mother's old clothes. She dug down anyway, wondering what else was inside. As she reached the bottom her eyes lit up. She grinned. Yukiko pulled the piece of clothing out of the trunk and held it up. If it fit, she would be set. She held it up to her chest and grinned.

In hindsight, Sasuke really wished he had let his daughter leave while wearing the shirt he had protested to earlier. He stared at her as she walked down the stairs, her head held high. He met his daughter's eyes and nearly grimaced as she smirked at him. He had no idea where she had found the old shirt. It was when he had still been with Orochimaru. The white, long sleeved, incredibly open-chested shirt with the Uchiha crest on the back. It was almost too big for her. But she had tied it with a simple black ribbon at her waist and worse an ungodly orange shirt underneath.

"I hope this is appropriate." Yukiko said, turning in place. Sasuke nearly groaned. Everything was covered. Nothing was showing. She was even wearing a pair of pants that weren't a tight as her others. He couldn't do anything. "That's what I thought." She said, glaring at her father. "Now if you don't mind, I'm late for training." She walked out of the house and slammed the door. Hinata placed a hand on Sasuke's back. He shook his head and sighed.

"Why is that shirt even in this house?" He muttered. The girl would be the death of him. He knew it.


	15. Chapter 15

**Note:** Something extra long to hold you over until I finish with finals? I will try to update soon, but the next chapter isn't even started yet. This is one of my favorite chapters. also the longest, I believe.

Bargaining Chip

"Kiko, Kiko!" Came the shout from downstairs. Yukiko rolled over in her bed, groaning. She glanced over at the clock and sighed.

"It's my day off, Kouki, go back to bed!" She shouted at her door. The sound of her little brother running up the stairs followed, and Kouki burst through the door, his eyes wide.

"Kiko, there's someone with a message for you at the door. He says the Hokage wants to see you!" Kouki said, bouncing on the balls of his feet. "Maybe you have a mission. Maybe you get to go to Snow country and save a princess like Dad! Or maybe, you have to go stop a bad guy from taking over the world. That would be so cool!" Yukiko rolled her eyes. Kouki might have only been four, but he was eager and loved to hear about their father's life as a teen.

"Alright. Let me get dressed. Now go tell him I'l be there in a moment." Yukiko slipped out of bed and pushed her still chattering little brother out of her room before closing the door. She glanced around the room, grabbing various pieces of clothes that were strewn across the floor. she pulled on a pair of pants, as well as her now signature orange tanktop. On top of that, she added her father's old shirt, now hemmed to fit her size. It had taken a while to get used to, but Yukiko appreciated the loose sleeves, which were ideal for hiding weapons. And the look on her father's face when she wore it still made her grin with delight. It had been over a year since their argument, but she was still set on showing her father that she could make her own choices.

She took the stairs two at a time, and was at the door in a few seconds. She opened it to see a chunin, not someone she knew personally, waiting. He rolled his eyes when she appeared.

"Took you long enough." He said, sounding bored. Yukiko held out her hand

"Sorry. I wasn't expecting to have to do anything today. So my message?" She replied, not wanting to become irate with the chunin.

"Yeah, here." He said, pulling out a folded piece of paper. "The Hokage wants to see you at once." When Yukiko took the paper, he nodded once and disappeared. Yukiko unfolded the paper and frowned. Mission assignments were usually given to Shikamaru, who then had the team meet at the Hokage's office. But this was a personal note from Naturo, nothing official. She pocketed the note and frowned. She didn't want to bring Kouki with her, it was unprofessional. But her mother was obviously out of the house and no one was home. Leaving a four year old alone was never a good idea, even if he was an Uchiha.

"Kouki!" She shouted. Her little brother's hear appeared from atop the stairs.

"Yeah, what?" He replied.

"Do you want to come find out why the Hokage wants me?" She asked, watching as his expression turned from surprise to delight.

"Really? I can go with you? Awesome!" He souted as he ran down the stairs, nearly tripping over the last few.

"Put on your shoes and let's go." Yukiko said, grabbing her ninja sandals. Kouki followed suit, and in one swoop, Yukiko hefted her brother onto her back. He might have been a chubby four year old, but she had trained enough that his weight barely effected her. Yukiko was silently thankful to Lee. She was stronger now that she would have thought she could be. "Hold on." Yukiko said, before jumping to a nearby roof. She smiled as Kouki let out a whoop and gripped her neck.

"You're the best sister ever!" Kouki shouted, laughing as they went.

.~.~.~.~.~.

"You have to be quiet. Okay?" Yukiko placed a hand on Kouki's head and approached the door to the Hokage's office. She took a breath and knocked. A few moments went by before Naruto's bellow came through the door.

"Come in!" Yukiko opened the door, expecting to see the Hokage sitting at his desk. Instead, he was standing with three men as well as a chunin, all bearing the single musical note that identified them as ninja from the sound village. She recognized them all instantly.

"Sho!" She cried, stepping towards her old body guard. The man had aged well, though a few gray streaks went through his hair. He turned to Yukiko and let out a low laugh.

"Took you long enough, Princess. Sleeping in?" Sho asked with a knowing grin. Yukiko shrugged.

"It's my day off. What else am I supposed to do?" Yukiko retorted, before turning to the other men. "Oh. Otokage-sama." She said, lowering her voice to a more formal tone and bowing towards him. The man her father had chosen as his successor was tall and thin, his wiry figure misleading, as he was one of the strongest ninja Yukiko knew. He stoof a foot taller than Naruto, though the only thing that identified his position was the kanji for sound embroidered on his right sleeve.

"Never bow to me, Princess." He said, bowing to Yukiko, but much lower than Yukiko's bow. "Compared to your father, I am just plain old Takuma." Yukiko was taken aback by Takuma's statement. She had known him when she was younger, as the Jounin who apprenticed under her father. Takuma had been far less serious then, always willing to laugh or play with Yukiko when her father was busy. She had spent many hours talking with the older man about how Oto worked and what being Otokage meant.

"Then don't bow to me either." Yukiko said, grinning at the man. He shrugged.

"Whatever you say, princess." He replied. Yukiko frowned.

"And stop calling me that." She said. Takuma merely rolled his eyes before turning to Naruto.

"Well, now that she's here, I think it's time to get down to business." The Otokage said. Naruto sighed.

"Yes, I'm aware. Yukiko, why is Kouki here?" He asked, eyeing her little brother who had taken in the strangers with wide eyes.

"Oh, sorry." Yukiko said, rubbing the back of her head in embarassment. "Mother wasn't home, and I couldn't leave him alone. So I had to bring him along."

"I wanted to see what Yukiko gets to do!" Kouki piped up from beside her. "Dad never lets me go with him. But Yukiko let me come!" He was so bright and eager that Naruto simply grinned.

"Alright. Kouki, but you have to go wait outside for a bit. What we're about to say is top secret." Naruo pointed to the door, though Kouki looked dejected. "If you ask nicely, I'm sure Meogi will give you some candy." At his words, Kouki brightened and nodded. He quickly hugged Yukiko's waist before running out the door.

"So that's the youngest Uchiha." Sho said, staring at the door Kouki had left through. "He reminds me of you at that age." He said to Yukiko. She frowned, not appreciating the way her old mentor referred to her.

"Yeah, he's much more personable than his father." Naruto said with a grin. "He actually likes people." Yukiko allowed herself to smile at Naruto's jokes. She had long ago learned that despite both he and her father's differing roles, their rivalry had continued through the years. Neither would miss an opportunity to take a jab at the other.

"I think Takuma said something about business." Yukiko said, quickly changing the subject. Naruto nodded and walked over to his desk.

"Yes. It's been five years since our last treaty with the sound village." Naruto began. Yukiko nodded. That explained the presence of the other two ninja in the room. The chunin was one of the many assistants to the Otokage, while the jounin was the official ambassador between Oto and Konoha.

"And we're here to finalize the treaty." Takuma continued. "But now that Oto is able to sustain itself, there had to be changed. And I have something of a proposal for the Hokage. And for you as well."

"What kind of proposal?" Yukiko asked. She wasn't the most well versed in treaties and politics, but this was starting to sound suspicious to her.

"It's an offer. We have valuable trade routes that will make trade easier for Konoha. As well as influence of the leader of Rice country in favor of lower taxes on goods imported from Fire country. We just want something of value in return. Though it's not really a fair trade. What we're offering doesn't come close to what we're asking for." Takuma said.

"I still don't understand. What does this have to do with me?" Yukiko asked.

"We're investing in personnel of importance." Takuma replied, still skirting the topic. Yukiko thought for a moment.

"Wait." She said, wrapping her mind around what the Otokage was saying. "You mean that..." She trailed off, not sure of what to think.

"We want you to come back to Oto and become one of our ninja." Takuma said. Yukiko stared at him. She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Come back to Oto?" She whispered. She looked between Takuma and Sho, who were watching her reaction closely. This had obviously been planned far in advance, perhaps even since she and her father first left Oto.

"We would promote you to chunin at once. We haven't yet entered anyone into the corporate exams, since we're still starting up. So it wouldn't be breaking any rules or making any exceptions. You're more than capable, according to your record. You would have your housing paid for, and food as well, until you start making enough money from missions to pay for yourself. Most anything you need would be provided. In time, I would probably take you on as my apprentice and prepare you to become Otokage after I retire." Takuma explained.

Being promoted to chunin was like a dream come true. Yukiko and Hiraku had pleaded with their sensei every year to enter their team into the chunin exams. And every year Shikamaru refused. But to be practically guaranteed the role of Otokake. She was speechless.

"You don't have to decide now." Nartuo said, interrupting Yukiko's train of thought. "The treaty won't be finalized for another three days. I'm going to be honest, Yukiko." Yukiko looked into Naruto's eyes and saw a pained expression. "I can't offer you anything other than what you already have." His words carried weight, though Yukiko wasn't sure of what he meant.

"I don't know." Yukiko managed. "I need the time." The older men nodded.

"Don't make any rash decisions." Naruto said. "You can go now." Yukiko nodded and headed for the door. When she opened it, she saw Kouki sitting in a chair, swinging his feet back and forth. He looked up at her and smiled a wide smile, revealing a hint of blue on his teeth.

"Kiko! What did the Hokage say?" Kouki asked, jumping off the chair and running to her side. She swallowed hard. How was she going to explain this to Kouki? How was she going to explain this to anyone?


	16. Chapter 16

**Note:** Finals are done. Expect more updates. This chapter gave me so much trouble. I probably rewrote it five times. And I'm still not happy with it. Oh well. The story must go on.

Purgatory

When the sun rose the next morning, Yukiko had already dressed and slipped out of her house, not wanting to have another confrontation like the one from the night before. She had approached the topic of the Otokage's offer at the dinner table, knowing it was the only time she would be able to talk to all of her family at once. She could still remember the way her family had reacted.

The look on her father's face still stung. He was wide eyed, though disappointment was obvious on his features. Her mother looked like she had been hit in the chest, and Kazuki had the slightest sneer on his usually impassive face. But Kouki's reaction had hurt her the most of all.

"Don't you love me?" He had whispered after the firm refusal of her father and the snide taunts of her brother. Yukiko nearly cried when her little brother whispered his concern to her. "I don't want you to leave me." She hadn't know her youngest brother would react with such great misery. Yukiko walked along one of the empty streets of Konoha, glad for the peace of the early morning. She paused when she came to the Yamanaka flower shop, considering if she should go in.

After a moment's hesitation, Yukiko opened the door, nearly wincing at the sound of the bell as it announced her presence. She saw Ume dozing lightly behind the counter. She smiled. Some things never changed. Yukiko approached Ume, and leaned on the desk, so her face was close to Ume's.

"Good morning!" She greeted louder than necessary. Ume's eyes opened at once, widening at the sudden sound. She shrieked, but calmed when she was Yukiko.

"Some friend you are." Ume muttered, wiping the sleep from her eyes. "So what brings you here this early?" Ume asked. Yukiko looked at her friend, not sure how to begin. When she had first come to the academy in Konoha, Ume was the first person to greet her, as well as her first friend. They were close.

It had been difficult for Yukiko to learn to trust new people. She had put unwavering faith in Mika. And that hadn't ended well. But Ume wasn't Mika. The brunette was just a few months younger than Yukiko, and took after her father. Plump and friendly, Ume was more concerned with making others happy than anything else. And slowly, Yukiko had opened up to the girl.

"I need to talk." Yukiko whispered. Ume nodded.

"Then talk, you know I'm here for you." Ume assured, reaching over the counter and placing a hand on Yukiko's arm.

"I've been given an offer to go back to Oto and become a ninja there." Yukiko blurted out. She held her breath as she waited for Ume to respond. Her friend sat quietly for a moment before sighing.

"What are you going to do?" Ume asked, a hint of sadness in her voice.

"I'm not sure." Yukiko said, still unsure of what Ume thought.

"Do you want to go?"

"I do. But at the same time, I have all my friends and family here. I don't know what to do." Yukiko said, her voice cracking as she tried to keep her composure.

"Yukiko, you know I'll always be your friend, right?" Yukiko met Ume's gaze and for the first time in a very long time, realized that she had a best friend.

"Yeah. I do." Yukiko replied softly.

"And you know that I'm not going to stop being your friend if you do what makes you happy?" Ume looked stern, like she was lecturing a child. "I know you want to go. If this had been offered three years ago, you would have been gone in a heartbeat. Is three years really enough to convince you that you want to be here?"

"But, I don't want to leave you. Or my family. Or Hiraku." Yukiko countered.

"I'll visit. Often. Your family is your family, and even if they don't like the idea, they'll still support you. As for Hiraku." Ume trailed off for a moment, but grinned. "He would probably ask to go with you. Or make something long distance work." Ume watched as Yukiko deflated, still looking unsure.

"I'm not saying you have to go. But I don't want you to stay and regret it." Ume grabbed Yukiko's hand and squeezed. "I'd rather you be happy than close. And you and I both know that you'll be happier in Oto. It's what's best for you."

.~.~.~.~.~.~.

Yukiko wasn't sure what to do. She sat on the edge of the bridge, peering into the river. she had been sitting there for more than an hour, still not sure of what todo about the offer from the Otokage. When she left Oto, Yukiko had begged her father to let her go back and stay. But now that she was in Konoha, Yukiko wasn't sure what to do or think. It was everything she had ever dreamed of, the chance to go back to the village she had grown up in, and then to become the Otokage. Yukiko sighed. She had been weighing the pros and cons for hours, thinking about what her family and Ume had said.

"Having trouble?" Came a low voice from behind her. Yukiko turned to see an older ninja, his gray hair and trademark mask making him easy for her to recognize. It was Kakashi, her father's old teacher.

"Yes." She muttered.

"Your father told me what happened. It's not something that happens often. And it's even more rare for someone to change their village alliance with the approval of both villages." Kakashi said, coming to stand beside her.

"Why are you here?" Yukiko asked, not sure why her father had trusted Kakashi with her dilemma.

"Because I was the one who told your father not to go to Oto. When he left as a genin, and when he went to become the Otokage." Kakashi said. Yukiko turned to him.

"He doesn't want me to leave." Yukiko said, not even making it sound like a question.

"Sasuke went to Oto the first time because he wanted power, and didn't understand what he had in Konoha. He went to become Otokage because he felt he had a duty to the people he had left without hope. But he didn't want to go. He left everything behind."

"But what if it's all I ever had?" Yukiko asked. "What if that is my hoome? What then?"

"Then you think about what means the most to you." Kakash stated. "You'll be leaving behind your family and friends. And your team." Yukiko let out a groan.

"I know!" She replied, her voice strained. She looked away from Kakashi, her heart heavy. He hadn't done much aside from make her feel worse. "I just don't know what to do. And everyone is telling me to do something different. How am I supposed to decide when I can't even tell what I want?" Yukiko looked up at Kakashi, not sure how he felt.

Despite having met Kakashi before, Yukiko didn't know him well at all. He might occasionally come by for dinner and discuss things with her father, but the man was a mystery. And even more than a mystery, he seemed to not like Yukiko. He treated her with vague indifference and rarely spoke to her.

"I'm not telling you to stay." Kakashi said after a few moments. Yukiko's eyes widened. "I'm telling you that your father needs you to stay. He's dealt with things in his life that I wouldn't wish upon my enemies." Kakashi took a step towards the edge of the bridge and leaned over it, looking into the water.

"He lost his family once. Going to Oto after having a family nearly set him over the edge. Now the idea of you leaving has him terrified. Your father isn't a stable man, Yukiko. Not after everything he's been through. Sasuke puts up a good front, but you leaving might break him."

"Why didn't he say anything?" Yukiko asked, her voice small.

"Because you didn't need to hear it from him. Sasuke didn't ask me to tell you this. But even if he has grown old and doesn't need me anymore, I'm still his teacher. I still have a responsibility to him." Kakashi replied, his tone bitter.

"It's not my job to make sure my father is happy." Yukiko said, her tone firm. "I love him. But I can't live my life to make him happy." She shook her head. "I have to live for myself." She turned to see Kakashi shrug his shoulders.

"It will be your decision. But you'll be abandoning your teammates if you go." Kakashi said. Yukiko looked away from the man and sighed. How could she just abandon everyone?

"Just make sure you think about it." Kakashi said. Yukiko was about to reply, when she glanced over to see Kakashi was gone. She frowned.

"Some help you were." She spat out, getting up from the railing of the bridge and stretching. She only had two days left to decide. And no one was helping her.

.~.~.~.~.~.~.

A soft knock on her bedroom door made Yukiko roll over in bed. she had spent the last few hours curled up underneath the covers, trying to sort out what she was going to do.

"Yukiko." Came the soft voice of Hinata through the door. "I have dinner here if you want some." Yukiko didn't respond, but stared at the door, her eyes bleary. The door opened a crack, and her mother peeked in. "I know you don't want to see anyone right now, but I just wanted to make sure you eat. You're a growing young woman and you need to keep healthy." Yukiko watched as her mother opened the door further, moving to place the tray on the floor without coming inside.

"Mother?" Yukiko croaked out. Hinata stilled. "Can I talk to you?"

"Of course." Hinata replied, steeping inside the room and closing the door. She came over to Yukiko's bed and placed the tray on the nightstand before sitting down on the side of the bed. Yukiko sat up, her eyes level with her mother's.

"How upset is Dad?" Yukiko whispered, her eyes traveling to the door, as if she suspected someone to be listening through the cracks. Hinata's head lowered.

"Your father is very upset." Hinata said at last, her fists clenched. "He hasn't been this angry since- since the War." Yukiko's eyes widened. Hinata looked at her daughter and shook her head.

"He's not angry at you." Her mother said quickly, grabbing Yukiko's hand. "He's upset with Takuma."

"I don't understand." Yukiko muttered. "I'm the one who wants to go. He should be upset with me."

"Takuma swore he would never try to separate Sasuke from his family again." Hinata said, her voice low. "Sasuke made him promise that when he gave him the title of Kage. But he's gone back on his word."

"But he still doesn't want me to go." Yukiko said, frowning.

"Neither of us do." Hinata said. Her grip on Yukiko's hand tightened slightly, and she met her daughter's eyes. Yukiko nearly winced when she saw tears beginning to form in her mother's eyes. "We've barely been a family, these past few years. I feel like I've barely had time to be your mother." Hinata wiped her eye with her sleeve and shook her head. "But I know I can't stop you, if it's something you really want. I would never stand in the way of your dreams. I wouldn't be so cruel."

"I didn't mean to hurt anyone." Yukiko whispered. "I just... Sometimes I feel like I don't belong here. People still don't trust me, or even like me. But in Oto, everyone loved me." She took a deep breath and sighed. "Promise you won't tell Dad about this, okay?"

"I promise." Hinata replied. "What is it?" Yukiko looked around the room, anywhere but her mother. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"I want to become Hokage." She blurted out. Yukiko winced as her mother gasped slightly. Moments passed in silence, and she watched as her mother's face, a mix of emotions. Yukiko's eyes widened when her mother pulled her into a tight embrace.

"I-I'm so p-proud of you." Hinata stuttered out, her voice wavering.

"What?" Yukiko asked, unsure of how to react to her mother. Hinata let go of Yukiko, but placed her hands on her daughter's shoulders.

"You're the second important person in my life who has wanted to become Hokage." Hinata said, her eyes shining with tears. "The first one achieved his dream. I know you will too." Yukiko smiled at her mother.

"Thanks, mom."

.~.~.~.~.~.~.

The door to the Hokage's office had never been so daunting. Yukiko had been standing before it for several minutes, nervous to enter. She took a deep breath and knocked.

"Come in!" Came Naruto's shout through the door. Yukiko opened the door and entered. Before her stood the Hokage and Otokage, along with Sho and the Sound chunin.

"It is good to see you again, Yukiko." Takuma said, grinning. "All this business has kept me busy, and I haven't been able to really see Konoha or your family. Such a shame." Naruto coughed, drawing attention to himself.

"Perhaps next time. Yukiko, I assume you're here because you've made a decision?" He asked.

"I have." Yukiko said, meeting Naruto's eyes.

"Well," Takuma said, watching the young girl closely. "Let's hear it then."


	17. Chapter 17

Fracture

The Hidden Sound Village was bustling with life. Yukiko walked through the gate and grinned, excited to be back. Everything was as it had been when she left years ago, although here and there she could spot a few minor changes. New stores, more vendors on the streets, and more people. It was as if Oto had changed while Yukiko was sleeping. But she loved the sound of people shouting in the main thoroughfare, haggling over vegetable prices and generally enjoying the day. She had barely taken a few steps down the main road when one of the villagers recognized her.

"Yukiko! Is that our little Yukiko?" Called a woman from a stall along the side of the road, selling small trinkets. She waved at Yukiko, making the girl blush. She approached the woman.

"Hello, Masaki." She said, her eyes darting at the woman's wares. The stall sold a little bit of everything. Jeweled broaches, small figurines, glittering glass ornaments that hung from the top, sending flashes of sunlight through the stall. Yukiko had visited it enough when she was younger that it didn't quite take her breath away, but the old woman's wares were always beautiful. Masaki leaned over her stall and grabbed Yukiko's hand.

"It's so good to see you, Yukiko. When you and your father left Oto, we all missed seeing you." The old woman paused, appraising Yukiko. "I missed you. You've grown into a strong young woman." Masaki said, wrinkles appearing around her eyes as she smiled.

"It has been a while." Yukiko agreed, still taking in the sights of the village. "It seems just like when I left." Masaki let out a laugh.

"Yes, mostly the same. You haven't seen the square yet. It's twice as busy as it used to be. All the best merchants set up shop there. Thought about moving my stall, but I love the comings and goings of the gate too much to move. I would hate to miss anyone important when they come in." Masaki squeezed Yukiko's hand. "You should probably get going. Your group is waiting for you." Yukiko glanced back to see that the group she had traveled with had stopped when she left.

"Yes. We've got a busy schedule. I'll try to stop by soon, Masaki. It was good seeing you." Yukiko turned around, only to nearly stumble backwards when she bumped into one of her companions.

"Hey, we've gotta stay together. You might know this place, but the rest of the team doesn't need to get lost while we're here." Hiraku said, throwing an arm around Yukiko's shoulder. He leaned against her and led her back to the group, consisting of three different genin teams from Konoha.

"Someone you know?" Shikamaru asked when the two rejoined the group.

"Yeah. Sorry. I won't wander off again." Yukiko replied, ducking her head.

"I can't believe it's finally happening." Hiraku said, removing his arm from Yukiko's shoulders and turning to marvel at Oto. "We're finally going to be in the chunin exams!"

.~.~.~.~.~.

The world was spinning. Yukiko let out a groan of pain as she tried to push herself up from the ground, but a stab of pain went through her shoulder. She fell back, wincing as her shoulder hit the ground. She had to be quiet. It wasn't safe to scream, not while another team could be anywhere. She glanced over at Hiraku. He was tending to Kazuki, who was bleeding heabily out of his right forearm. She watched as Hiraku ran his hands over Kazuki's arm, the pulsing green healing chakra mended the flesh together. Hiraku pulled something out of his pouch and handed it to Kazuki. Then he turned to Yukiko.

"I'm gonna need your help, Kazuki." Hiraku said, his voice strained. Yukiko looked away from her teammates, too embarrassed by her condition to see them. They had encountered a rather nasty team from Rain, and barely managed to beat them. Yukiko had dislocated her shoulder when she jumped the largest member of the team, a hulking guy that held the scroll they needed to recover. She hand managed to stay on his back and distract him long enough for Kazuki to grab the scroll from him, but when she tried to let go, he had grabbed her arm and swung her around like a rag doll, popping her shoulder out of place. It also didn't help that her shirt was nearly in shreds, thanks to another member of the team from rain.

"You need to stay still, Yukiko." Hiraku said, bending over and gently taking her arm. The pain shot through her body and she tried to pull away. "Hold her down, would you?" Hiraku said over his shoulder. Kazuki stepped forward and held Yukiko's other shoulder and arm, making it impossible for her to move.

"Alright. I'm going to count to three." Hiraku met Yukiko's eyes, a reassuring smile on his face. She nodded. "One. Two." Hiraku pushed her arm, forcing it back into the socket. Yukiko let out a scream.

"What the hell was that?" Yukiko yelled, ignoring the potential danger. She wrenched her arm from Kazuki and grabbed her shoulder. "What happened to on three?" Hiraku stood up, wiping his hands on his shirt.

"It's done, stop worrying. We need to get out of here without dying." He glanced around.

'Hiraku is right. We need to move. Someone probably heard you scream." Kazuki added, his byakugan active. "Incoming. From the east. We should really be gone now." Yukiko stood and nodded, still holding her shoulder.

"I thinks it's too late for that." Activating her sharingan and turning so her back was to Hiraku and Kazuki. They all faced outward, as three other nin appeared, emerging from the trees.

"You sure you can handle this with your shoulder?" Hiraku asked, glancing over his shoulder at Yukiko.

"I'll be fine." Yukiko replied, steadying herself and preparing for the fight.

"Don't get yourself killed." Kazuki threw in. "I'm pretty sure we can't move on if you're dead." Yukiko rolled her eyes and turned to her opponent. When she saw his headband, she frowned. This was a team from Oto. It was then that she recognized the three opposing genin. They were her age, from her academy class when she lived in Oto. Her stomach felt heavy as she prepared to fight her former ally.

.~.~.~.~.~.

Sasuke had never hidden the truth of the mangeyko sharingan from Yukiko. After the incident with Mika, he had answered all her questions about her new powers, and emphasizing that she only user her new abilities under extreme circumstances, or she would go blind. Yukiko had obeyed her father, terrified of being unable to see. Her regular sharingan hadn't caused any further damage to her eyes, but every time she used the mangekyo, Yukiko could tell that her vision was fading, if only slightly.

Objects in the distance were fuzzy. Yukiko reached in her side pouch and pulled out a pair of glasses. She had asked Hiraku's mother before leaving Konoha if she could get her a higher prescription, in case of an emergency. Sakura had reluctantly agreed.

"Watch my back, would you?" Yukiko said, turning away from the three Oto genin, now trapped in a genjutsu and deactivating her mangeyko sharingan.

"You're slowing us down." Kazuki replied, his tone bland. "Hurry up."

"Shut up." Yukiko spat back, taking a contact out of her eye. She flicked it to the ground and removed the other. "I didn't see you doing much to help." When they were both gone, she put on the glasses, twitching her nose at the strange feeling on her face.

"You look disgusting with those on." Kazuki taunted, sneering.

"You'll look disgusting when I break your face." Yukiko made to take a step towards her brother when Hiraku grabbed her arm.

"Leave him be. We need to go." He said, tugging her sleeve.

"Fine. But if you insult me again, I will break you." Yukiko muttered darkly.

"You wish." Kazuki replied, before taking off in the direction of the exit. Yukiko scowled and followed him, Hiraku right beside her. Soon they would be moving on the the finals. But Yukiko couldn't help but wonder if maybe she was on the wrong team after all.

**Note:** Late. But this time of year is busy. I'll update tomorrow, promise! Also, I've always felt the chunin exams would have some sort of standard. Basically the same every time, but with small differences in location and such. So that's how I'm writing it.


	18. Chapter 18

Karate Kid

With just under a month left to train for the final part of the chunin exams, Team Five was well on their way to destroying themselves from within. Hiraku watched as the two Uchiha siblings shouted at each other across the training grounds. He glanced at the sun, hoping Shikamaru would show up soon.

"What is your problem? What have I ever done to you to make you hate me? I came back to Konoha with Dad and the first words out of your mouth were an insult. It's been years and you've just gotten worse!" Yukiko screamed, her fists balled as she glared at her brother. Kazuki was leaning against a tree, his near perfect posture one of indifference.

"What do you think it was like here?" Kazuki shot back. "Didn't you ever think that maybe when father left, he hurt mother? That maybe he was selfish and didn't care what happened to me?"

"Hey. We don't need to be fighting." Hiraku interjected, his gaze torn between the twins. "We need to be training!"

"Stay out of this, Hiraku." Yukiko said, not taking her eyes off Kazuki. "Dad left because Oto needed him. Even I could tell he always wanted to come back!" she replied to her brother, lowering her voice. "He wasn't being selfish."

"He left because he couldn't handle raising a child with the sharingan in this village. He was protecting you, and he left mother to fend for herself." Kazuki pushed off the tree and stepped towards Yukiko. "Grandfather told me everything, you know. About how father wanted to marry mother because he thought the byakugan might be a dominant genetic trait. He knew any child with his bloodline would never be welcome in Konoha. So he left to protect you."

"That's a lie!" Yukiko screeched, her arms trembling. "He didn't want to go. He came back as soon as he could. He loves mother."

"Just like he cared for the teammates he nearly killed? Just like loved his brother?" Kazuki smirked as Yukiko's eyes narrowed.

"Shut up, right now." Yukiko said, no longer screaming. "You have no idea what you're talking about."

"I didn't just sit around doing nothing, you know." Kazuki slowly walked around Yukiko, circling her. "I trained with the Hyuuga clan. They were willing enough to care for mother. And more than willing to tell me the truth. Father is nothing more than a pathetic man living on the coattails of the hokage. I'm surprised they even let him out of prison."

"You don't know anything about our father!" Yukiko screamed, launching herself at Kazuki, he turned to dodge, but she grabbed his arm, pulling him to the ground. "I'll kill you for that!" Yukiko landed a solid punch on Kazuki's jaw before the two began grappling with each other, kicking and punching wildly. It was nothing like a proper fight, and neither cared. Yukiko's fury edged her on, and she activated her sharingan, taking in every detail of her twin brother and trying to get an edge over the faster and stronger of the two.

"Then you'll be just like father. A murderer." Kazuki bit out. Yukiko froze, her fist raised as she tried to hold down her brother.

"I am not a murderer." She spat, pushing herself away from Kazuki.

"Really. Because last time I checked, murder was the number one requirement for your special eyes." Kazuki said, staring up at his sister, smirking. "You really are turning out just like him. I expected you to go to Oto, since everyone here hates you and your cursed eyes." Yukiko took a step back as Kazuki rose from the ground.

"They don't hate me." Yukiko's voice began to waver.

"Really? Surely you hear the whispers? Of the demon child who killed her best friend. Because I hear them all the time." He paused, turning away from Yukiko for a moment. Kazuki glanced over his shoulder, his face blank. "You're pathetic, just like Grandfather said. Weak and scared of your own abilities. I hope we face each other in the finals. Someone needs to put you in your place." For a moment, Yukiko stared at her brother, unsure of what to do.

"I look forward to it." Yukiko replied. She turned from her Kazuki and ignored Hiraku as he tried to mediate between the two. It was time to train for the finals.

.~.~.~.~.~.

Naruto barely looked up from the report he was reading when the door burst open. He tried to hide his smirk when Yukiko slammed her hands on his desk.

"I want you to train me." She said, sounding far more confident than he had ever heard her. Something must have set her off.

"I'm a very busy man, Yukiko. I barely have time for all this paperwork and my family." Naruto looked up from the report, meeting the young girl's eyes. There was something about her familiar black eyes that threw him off. She might have the same eyes as her father, but he could recognize the determination in them as his own.

"When I become a chunin I'll help with your paperwork for three months." Yukiko supplied without hesitation.

"I think you put too much stock in my ability." Naruto said, looking back at the report and signing the bottom. "I was the last genin in my age group to become a chunin. You would be better off talking to your sensei. He was chunin before anyone else."

"I don't need him to train me." Yukiko said, leaning forward. "I need you. You're the only ninja with wind type chakra in the village. I need you to train me." Naruto glanced up at her, surprised for the first time since she entered the room.

"Wind type? Really? How long have you known?" Naruto asked, curious.

"About a month. Sensei made sure we knew before we went into the chunin exams." Yukiko explained. She paused and held Naruto's gaze. For a moment, Naruto couldn't help but be impressed by her blatant confidence. Few people were brave enough to storm into a Kage's office uninvited, especially to demand training. Perhaps there was more to Yukiko Uchiha than he had ever expected.

"So are you going to train me, or not? Because I don't need to be wasting my time here if you won't." Yukiko frowned when Naruto made no response. "Fine. I'll find someone else."

"Three and a half months. But you have to help for six if you don't become chunin. I'm not a fan of wasting my time either." Naruto said, holding out his hand. Yukiko's eyes widened, but she grinned and grasped his hand. "Let's get started then. These reports are boring, and you're going to need all the time you can get for what I'm going to be teaching you."

.~.~.~.~.~.

**Note: **Since I've had trouble fitting it in, Yukiko is 15 right now. Hopefully this explains the animosity. Also, very few characters can be considered a completely reliable narrator.


	19. Chapter 19

**Note:** This was the first part of this story that I ever wrote. It needed some edits, and still seems not up to par. But I like it.

Cain and Able

A small crowd of teenagers stood in the viewing box. All around the arena, the crowd cheered as two fought to the death on the ground below. A girl, fifteen with short black hair leaned over the bars, watching the fight with rapt attention. Her cheek had been scratched and a thin line of blood traced down her face.

"This is sick." She said, glancing away form the match to the crowd. "All these people are here watching us try and kill each other. Is this really necessary?" Beside her, a stoic teenager shook his head.

"What else is to be expected from those that have never seen the truth that exists only to those who see it?" Kazuki crossed his arms and let his gaze fall for the first time to the match going on below. "Is your boyfriend going to finish some time soon? I would like to get on to the next round."

"He'll be done soon. And stop being so florid." She replied, scowling. Just as she spoke, the proctor raised his hand, halting the fight.

"The winner is Hiraku Uzamaki." Yukiko grinned and turned to her brother.

"Told you." She replied. Hiraku's opponent was taken off the arena in a stretcher while he climbed the stairs to the viewing box. When he arrived, Yukiko was right beside him, grasping his hand.

"Remind me to never take on a genjustsu specialist again." He whispered. The two walked over to the railing, where Hiraku sat down.

"So then we should never fight?" Yukiko suggested with short laugh.

"Sure, and while you're at it, go make me a sandwich." He replied before laying down on the ground.

"Go make your own sandwich." She said, rolling her eyes and turning her gaze back to the arena. "I have better things to do than make you lunch." Hiraku closed his eyes and sighed.

"Like what?" Was his only reply. Before She could reply, the proctor began to speak again.

"Because of a few tied matches and one participant's inability to continue, the unbiased council has rearranged the fighting matches. The first match is between Yukiko Uchiha and Kazuki Uchiha…" The proctor continued to list off the matches, but remained ignored by The two Uchiha and Hiraku.

Kazuki remained impassive and made his way to the stairs while Yukiko gripped the railing tightly.

"Well," She whispered. "I guess it's time then."

.~.~.~.~.~.

"Mom, why do they have to fight?" Kouki asked, tugging on his mother's sleeve. He could barely see over the railing, and was squished between his mother and the nice doctor with pink hair. Hinata looked down at her son and held his hand.

"Sometimes that's just how things work out." She explained. "But I wish they didn't have to." Hinata squeezed Kouki's hand.

"It'll be okay." He reassured his mother. Hinata nodded. Beside Kouki, Sakura watched the arena as well.

"Hinata, do you really think that this is going to be good for Kouki to see?" She asked, unsure of how the small boy would react to a fight between his siblings. "Maybe I could take him somewhere for now."

"No! I wanna see!" Kouki said, his voice nearing a scream. "I want to watch. I'll behave." He met Sakura's eyes, and the medic sighed. Hinata only held onto her youngest son tighter.

"You can stay." Hinata said. "But if I cover your eyes, you can't complain."

"Awww, Mom!" Kouki whined. But he repositioned himself so he could get the best view of the arena below.

.~.~.~.~.~.

Across the arena in the VIP box, Naruto and Sasuke stood staring at the proctor. Naruto had risen from his seat when the match had been announced, ignoring the other Kages presence and gripping the railing tightly.

"The unbiased panel is still out to get me, and they're going through my children to do it. Change the matches." Sasuke said, his hands gripping the railing to the point that it bent.

"I can't." Naruto replied. "I gave them the authority for choosing matches. If I take my word back now, it will mean nothing in the future." Sasuke nearly shouted at his long time friend, but stopped when he heard Naruto mutter to himself.

"I'm going to make sure those old airheads never have any sort of authority again. I don't care if I look bad, They're going to pay."

.~.~.~.~.~.

Yukiko walked down the stairs in relative silence. Each step brought her closer and closer to her brother. One step closer to settling the score. The words of her father echoed through her head as she took her first step into the arena.

"Don't let your anger consume you, Yuikiko. The path of hatred is lonely and unfulfilling."

Kazuki stood motionless on the other side of the arena. Nothing portrayed what he was feeling at the moment. Yukiko approached him, vaguely aware of what the proctor was saying. She was a foot away when her borhter held out his hand.

"I'm going to beat you." She whispered, grasping his hand. He smirked and tilted his head.

"You can try." In an instant, the two were at opposite sides of the arena. Yukiko placed her hand on her weapons pouch, waiting for her brother to make a move. They both observed the other, waiting for the first move to be made. One of the audience members made a loud booing noise and shouted.

"Hey! We're looking for a fight here! Not some staring contest." Temporarily distracted by the onlooker, Yukiko turned to yell at him when a kunai sliced through her left sleeve, cutting the Uchiwa embroidered on it in half. She yelped and turned to see that Kazuki had disappeared from sight.

A sudden stabbing feeling in her left arm caused her to turn, but was once again greeted by empty space. Yukiko tried to move her arm, but it was numb and motionless.

"You didn't think that blocking my chakra path and nerve endings would work did you?" She yelled while turning around. "Mother taught me too, you know." Yukiko brought her right hand to her left shoulder and pushed some of her chakra into the blocked passage. At once her arm was mobile once again.

"Stop hiding and make a move!" She shouted before running into the middle of the arena to gain a better vantage point. Another kunai came flying her way, but she deflected it with her own, finally catching sight of her brother just before he disappeared underground.

"Earth jutsu." She muttered. "I can't counter that." After a moment's hesitation, Yukiko grinned.

"I guess it's time to show you just what Hiraku's been teaching me!" she said. Pulling her right hand back, she brought her hand down and punched the ground. With the impact, the earth splintered and broke apart, revealing her brother and his hiding place. As he emerged, Yukiko threw several senbon at him with her left hand. As soon as the needles had left her hand, she grasped her right arm and flinched.

"You're an idiot." Kazuki deadpanned from across the arena. "Using a technique that incapacitates you. Some ninja you are." Yukiko glared at her brother as she slowly pushed more chakra into her arm.

"What, run out of metaphors? No wise advice for your poor sister?" She spat the words at him. Moments later she clenched her right fist and smirked. "I've got nine minutes to finish this before the feeling returns to my arm. You only have eight to give up."

Kazuki watched as his sister's eyes bled from dark black to crimson. "So you want to play rough then?" He asked. "I can play rough. Byakugan!" The two siblings stared each other down with their kekki genkai.

Yukiko ran through a series of handseals before releasing a jutsu. She smirked when the air in the arena began to swirl in a circular motion. The wind picked up speed until a small tornado had formed between the two siblings. With a hand gesture, the twister barreled towards her brother.

Kazuki jumped out of the way just before the howling wind lifted him up. He looked over at Yukiko, who was directing the twister with her hands.

"You've been training with Naruto-sama." He stated, bitter at the revelation. Yukiko grinned.

"He's the only other shinobi in the village with wind type chakra. Who else should I have gone to?" With another fluid hand movement, the cyclone was heading towards her brother now at a faster pace. Kazuki smirked at the oncoming attack and did a few familiar handseals. He took a deep breath, pulling his chakra into the air before exhaling a huge ball of fire towards the cyclone.

"Oh no." Yukiko whispered under her breath. The rushing winds were quickly engulfed by the flames. The intensity of the heat increased as the flames spread and enlarged with the wind. With a single motion, she released the jutsu, only to see the fire still whirling in a vortex. And she could only watch, stunned and horrified as the vortex approached her, flames licking up the air until it became hard to breathe. She stood in its path, motionless.

Yukiko knew it was irrational. She knew she shouldn't have any problem with it. Her ancestors practically breathed it. But she couldn't get within ten feet of fire to save her life.

She had no idea when the fear had developed. One day she had watched her father in awe as he produced a huge ball of fire over a placid lake. But the next time she had been around when her brother preformed the exact same technique, she had stopped dead in her tracks and trembled until he finished. It was a fear few people knew about. And her brother was one of the few.

Kazuki laughed. A happy laugh that Yukiko hadn't heard since they were children playing in the garden before her father took her to Oto. It was loud and boisterous, just like hers. But there was something about the laugh that bothered her.

"I'm going to win, Yukiko. Because you can't counter this. Fire is your weakness. For an Uchiha, your inability to wield it is despicable. It's why Father won't teach you Chidori. It's why Kakashi won't teach you at all. Because you're a failure. You'll never accomplish your dream." Kazuki watched as the vortex drew closer to his sister and smirked. "You always were afraid of the stupidest things." He spat out as she stared wide eyed into the flames.

Yukiko's world narrowed until al she could see was the firey vortex. All she could hear was the crackling flames, and the feeling of unimaginable heat overwhelmed her. And it paralyzed her. But there was something else… A voice, a feeling. She tried to turn away, but the fear kept her gaze on the flames. Again, a sound. A piercing pain.

"Don't let him talk to you like that, Yukiko!" Hiraku was about to fall over the railing and into the arena from his position. He had leaned over the railing as far as possible without falling and now shouted to the girl who stood motionless as the fire approached. "You can do it! He doesn't know anything! You can do this! Come on!"

It wasn't until her shoulder started throbbing that Yukiko woke from her fear. With a jolt, she was back to the real world, in pain and listening to Hiraku shout encouragements from the contestant's box. For a moment, she really did believe she could do it. So she did.

Kazuki didn't see her go through a string of handsigns just before the fire engulfed her. But he did see the water dragon that arose without a source from the ground and barreled through the vortex. What's more, he saw his sister, submerged in the dragon, coming right towards him. But it was the fire in her eyes, the determination that stopped his laughter.

When the water hit, he was pushed to the ground with the impact. And Yukiko was on him at once. Though some of the feeling had returned to her right arm, she could still use it to beat him. Several punches to the face later she stood up over him and shouted.

"Yield!" Yukiko said taking a deep breath. Kazuki attempted to get up, scowling.

"Never." He muttered. Yukiko clenched her fist and kicked his side. He again fell to the ground. Her sandal met his right arm and she pressed down, a threat.

In the stands above, Hinata covered Kouki's eyes with her hand and sobbed softly. Sakura brought her arm around Hinata's shoulder and held the other woman tight.

"Yield!" She shouted again. Kazuki didn't respond. The crack of his arm was only drowned out by his scream.

"I said yield!" She screamed as she moved her foot to his leg.

"And I said never." He bit out through the pain. With another stomp, his leg was broken. The proctor, now a good distance from them raised his hand as if to end the match, but Kazuki shouted.

"Don't you dare! I can beat her! I will beat her! I will not loose to her!" The proctor stopped and looked towards the Kage booth, hoping for some sort of order. Naruto gave none.

Tears flowed down Yukiko's cheeks as she moved her foot to Kazuki's other leg. She pleaded with him as she began to press down.

"Yield!" She shouted, less aggressive this time. Silence followed. Another crack and the leg was broken. As Yukiko stood over her brother, she held back a sob. Her eyes were trained on the wall of the arena, not meeting his own. "Please, Kazuki, yield."

"I will not loose to someone who does not believe in themselves." He intoned bitterly. Yukiko stomped down. She lowered her gaze to meet his, her face steeled against emotion.

"A Shinobi must never show emotion." She stated, a soft monotone replacing her previous cries. "Yield, or I will use it." Hiraku met his sister's eyes, and watched as the spinning tomoe began to fuse together into the mangeyko. Hiraku jerked as he looked into here eyes.

"I yield." He whispered as she closed her eyes. Silence filled the arena for a moment before the crowds began to cheer. Yukiko turned from her brother and walked towards the exit of the arena.

When she finally stepped into the protection of the doorway, she allowed herself to grab her right arm. She walked a distance without really knowing where she ended up. She leaned against the wall for support as the full effects of the fight began to take hold of her. A medic approached her and began to heal her arm.

"What did your opponent do to break your arm like this? It's fractured up to the shoulder blade!" Yukiko didn't respond as she felt the uncomfortable sensation of another person's chakra invade her system. But for now, she could ignore it as the pain eased. A large crowd was running by. She barely recognized some of them as medics. One of them approached her. Yukiko looked up to see her grandfather staring down at her.

"Where is your brother, girl?" He demanded. Yukiko met his gaze with her sharingan activated.

"In his place." She bit out as the medic finished her job. The old man took a step back and turned away from Yukiko. "Why do you hate me so much?" She called out. He continued walking away, not recognizing she had said anything.

Not that it mattered. She had won.


	20. Chapter 20

**Note:** I started writing this story many years ago. And while I'm not entirely certain where I cut off canon plot and insert my own, I would say you could safely exclude everything just before the summit of the Kages. I know that's way far back. But I was fond of certain characters and the whole identity of Madara fiasco in recent weeks leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I like my villains straightforward.

Common Enemy

All her life Yukiko had been warned of the black cloaks and crimson clouds. Stories of evil men and their actions had even given her nightmares the first time she had heard of the dreaded Akatsuki.

She should have panicked. She should have run in the opposite direction. She should have felt a chill go down her spine when she first caught a glimpse of the red clouds. But she didn't.

Team Shikamaru had been sent on a mission to Suna to personally deliver a letter from the Hokage to the Kazekage. All had gone well, and the two week break in Suna had been a much needed break for the entire team. Their departure had been a lighthearted one. They had been halfway to Konoha when the bounty hunters had crossed their path.

It was an unexpected attack. The group of six targeted Kazuki, doing their best to incapacitate him without causing too much damage. Hiraku and Shikamaru had fallen under a genjutsu cast by one of the bounty hunters. Yukiko managed to escape it, and she alone stood facing the six bounty hunters. It was then that she saw the two figures appear from the shadows.

One of them was tall; tall to the point where it was almost unnatural. But his height wasn't what caught her attention. His skin was blue. He looked like a shark. A rather old and wrinkly shark, but a shark nonetheless.

The other looked far younger than his partner. His dull brown hair was matted and looked dirty, but his pale gray eyes seemed to see through to her very soul. He glanced from the motionless girl to the six bounty hunters.

In an instant, the two Akatsuki were fighting the six rouges. Mere minutes passed before the two had singlehandedly dispatched five of the six, and held the final member of the group at the tip of the shark man's large sword.

"Who sent you?" The brown haired Akatsuki asked. The bounty hunter closed his eyes.

"I don't know. He just said get the boy and gave us half up front. Please, don't kill me!" The Brown haired man drew a kunai from his weapons pouch inside his cloak.

"Did he have a scar, running from his right eye to his jugular? Answer correct and you might live." The man ked frantic.

"I don't know! I didn't see him very well." The Kunai was now against the man's neck.

"Wait! I remember something." The kunai pressed deeper into the man's skin, drawing a singe drop of blood. "Yes! He did. A scar, bright red, looked new. Eye to neck. He had it." The brown haired akatsuki pulled the kunai away from the man's neck, only to slash across it, almost instantly killing the man.

The two Akatsuki members turned from the six dead bounty hunters to Yukiko she stood perfectly still, as if trying to blend into the trees around her. The brown haired man began to walk away, before some part of Yukiko found her voice.

"Why did you help me?" She asked, partially cursing herself as she spoke. The brown haired man turned to meet her eyes. Dark black met cloudy gray.

"We did not assist you." He stated in the same monotone he addressed the now dead missing nin in. "We simply had a common enemy." The other Akatsuki grinned maliciously at her and rolled his eyes.

"You Konoha nin never did understand that you're not the center of the world. Go home little Uchiha, before I decide you look too much like Itachi for me to deal with." The two were gone in an instant, leaving Yukiko alone in a clearing with six dead bodies and her incapacitated teammate. It was going to be a long trip home.


	21. Chapter 21

**Note:** This is sort of a transition chapter. It has some character development that needed to be put out there. Things get more interesting from here.

Battlefield

"I still don't see why we do this." Yukiko muttered, watching as her mother fussed over Kouki. He was six now and Yukiko couldn't help but laugh at her younger brother. He was squirming as Hinata attempted to make his messy hair look presentable. Beside Yukiko, her father placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I know you don't enjoy it, but humor your mother." He said. Yukiko sighed.

"But why don't you ever come with us?" She asked, hoping that her father would at least make the day bearable.

"The last time I set foot in that place, I swore I would never go back. I'm a man of my word." Her father said, his tone dark. Hinata let out a small laugh and released Kouki.

"He also set the main house on fire. I doubt they would let him come back anyway." She said, her voice light. She moved on to Kazuki, who was standing perfectly still, awaiting his mother's inspection. She fussed over his clothes while Yukiko grinned at her father.

"Really?" She asked, eyes bright. "You really set it on fire?" Sasuke chuckled, but turned to Yukiko and whispered so only she could hear.

"When I married your mother, I promised I would protect her from her clan. But that doesn't mean I can keep her from seeing them. Be strong, Yukiko. Just make it through dinner and you'll be fine." Yukiko nodded once, though she still dreaded the rest of the day.

Finally, Hinata moved from Kazuki to Yukiko, gently making sure her formal attire fit properly and was in place. Yukiko wasn't one for dresses or kimonos. So when she needed formal wear, she donned dress pants and a simple white shirt. Though the Uchiha emblem was boldly embroidered on the back. Hinata smiled at her daughter.

"Thank you for coming with me. I know it is difficult. Your grandfather..." She trailed off for a few moments. "He prefers to be stuck in the old ways. But he will come around. I'm sure of it." Yukiko met her mother's eyes and nodded. As much as she despised and hated having anything to do with the Hyuuga clan, she never could say no when her mother requested they go join their grandfather for dinner ever couple of months.

.~.~.~.~.~.

If there had to be a positive side to the tortuous visit to the Hyuuga compound, it was that the food was beyond delicious. Yukiko sat at the table, awaiting the food to be served. But it would be some time before anything besides tea was on the table. To her left, Kouki was moving in his seat, bored of the talk and not interested in tea. Across from her, Kazuki was turned so he faced the head of the table, where their grandfather sat. When he wasn't staring adoringly at their grandfather, he shot glares at Yukiko.

"It is good that you have come to visit" Hiashi said. Yukiko watched silently as her mother and grandfather exchanged small pleasantries. Across from her mother and beside Kazuki sat Neji, who had been kind enough to her, but still seemed distant. Yukiko stared into her tea, wishing that the food would finally be served so they could eat and leave.

"Kazuki, Neji has told me that you continue to improve quickly in your training." Hiashi said. Kazuki seemed to sit up a bit taller.

"I still have much to learn." Kazuki said. "But my training is proceeding faster than I had anticipated." Hiashi nodded his approval, and Yukiko nearly winced when she felt his gaze turn to her.

"And how is your training, granddaughter." He asked, all emotion gone from his voice.

"It is going well." Yukiko clipped out. "I've been training under the Hokage, as well as with my team and with Lee." She watched as her grandfather smirked.

"Such a shame that the next head of the Uchiha clan isn't being brought up in the proper environment. I would have expected your father to have taken over your training by now and prepare you for your duty." He intoned. The table was silent for a moment, and Yukiko felt the tension envelop her like a blanket.

"We are not a clan." She replied, meeting Hiashi's gaze with a glare. He raised an eyebrow. "We are a family." Yukiko continued. She could see her mother's smile out of the corner of her eye, and Hiashi frowned.

"And yet there has been much violence within your family." He glanced from Yukiko to Kazuki. "I hear that you and your brother fight often, even now, so many months after the chunin exams." He watched as Yukiko paled. She looked down at her lap, where she had her hands fisted, shaking uncontrollably. Everyone was silent.

"Sometimes Kiko lets me ride on her shoulders when she trains with Eyebrow-Sesei!" Kouki said, nearly jumping out of his seat. Everyone turned to the six year old, and Yukiko grinned at her little brother.

"Eyebrow-Sensei?" Neji asked, holding back a laugh.

"Yeah!" Kouki replied. "He's got huge eyebrows! And when he makes Kiko run laps, if I behave, she lets me ride on her shoulders. I count how many times she runs around the village." Kouki was grinning. Never before had Yukiko been more grateful for her little brother. Hiashi was speechless. But Kouki continued.

"And then sometimes, if Mommy isn't home, she takes me with her when she trains with Naruto!" Kouki's eyes lit up as he continued to speak. "And he makes loads and loads of clones, but Kiko gets rid of them all super fast! Sometimes Naruto says she's even better than Daddy!" Yukiko bit her lip, not quite sure if she appreciated the praise her little brother was giving. Her training with the Hokage was usually unknown to most people. She didn't need everyone knowing her new techniques.

"I think that's enough." Yukiko muttered to Kouki. But her brother just kept speaking.

"And he even says that if she keeps training hard, Yukiko will get to be Hokage! Just like she wants!" Yukiko covered Kouki's mouth with her hand, her face turning red with embarrassment. That was the last thing she wanted her grandfather to hear. He already mocked her enough.

"I'm surprised you would want to become Hokage, granddaughter." Hiashi said. "I will admit I expected you to run away and live a life of crime like your father. You tend to be a delinquent." Yukiko nearly jumped out of her chair to punch the old man out of anger when she felt her mother's hand grasp her own under the table. She glanced over to see her mother had a determined look on her face. Yukiko took a deep breath.

"Well, I tend to be full of surprises." She said, not bothering to look at Hiashi.

"I think that she will be able to do it." Her mother said, making Yukiko beam. "Naruto made his dream a reality. Yukiko is twice as determined as he is. She will become Hokage."

.~.~.~.~.~.

The gate of the Hyuuga compound never looked more beautiful. Yukiko was ready to run out the gates to freedom, but she held herself back. Just a few more minutes and they would be gone.

"It is always good to see you, daughter. I do wish you would come by more often." Hiashi said before he embraced Hinata for a moment.

"I am very busy." Hinata replied, not bothering to look at her father.

"Perhaps next time your daughter will wear something more appropriate for a young woman of her status. I'm sure you could find something that would flatter her rather ill proportioned body." He watched as Yukiko turned to look at him. Yukiko glared at her grandfather, her sharingan activated.

"Call me ugly one more time," she seethed, "And I'll make sure that what my father did the last time he was here will be nothing in comparison to what I do." She watched, taking every twitch of Hiashi's facial features, now in perfect clarity. He did a good job of masking his emotions, but Yukiko saw the flicker of fear in his face. She grinned.

"That's what I thought. You should really watch what you say. I don't think you want the next Hokage on your bad side."


	22. Chapter 22

**Note:** Welcome to the beginnings of the main plot. Just remember, I diverted from canon long ago. So, bear with me. And enjoy the ride.

Tea Time

By the time she reached the door to the tea house, Yukiko's target was already seated at a table in the middle of the large restaurant, surrounded by civilians. She made a quick motion with her hand, knowing her teammates would see it. She put on an eager face and stepped into the tea house.

They had been tracking the woman for a week. She was a former Suna shinobi, but within the last few months she had deserted her village and given out highly important secrets. It was a matter that needed to be taken care of quietly, and without any civilians noticing. It was now Yukiko's turn to tail the woman, making sure she didn't disappear when she went into shops and restaurants.

The inside of the tea house smelled of herbs and other pleasing aromas. Yukiko took at seat at the corner table, her back to the wall so she could face the door and still see her target. She ordered the signature blend when a waitress came by, and preoccupied herself with taking in her surroundings without giving away her intentions.

A group of old women sat beside the center table, gossiping in whispers that were more like shouts. Yukiko looked from the the women to the other tables along the wall. A teenage couple was flirting a few tables away. On the opposite side of the tea house, a young man watched them, his glares neither well hidden nor subtle. Yukiko grinned and turned her gaze to the window just in front of her. She caught a glimpse of Kazuki in the shadow of a tree. He moved his hand into a fist and motioned twice. She needed to stay put for now. She could handle that.

The waitress had returned with her tea. Yukiko smiled at the woman and took the tea in her hands. It had a strong citrus aroma. She took a sip and took a moment to indulge in the taste. She closed her eyes and tried to identify the different flavors. Her mother made some of the best tea Yukiko had ever tasted. It was probably the one thing she and her mother connected over. As she finished a second sip of the tea, Yukiko opened her eyes. She nearly jumped when she realized there was a man sitting across from her.

He looked young but weary, wrinkles under his eyes and stress lines across his forehead. His dark hair was long and unkempt and clashed dramatically with his fine clothes. Yukiko put her tea down and met his eyes. They were completely black.

"You shouldn't slip up like that." The man said, resting his elbow on the table and his chin on his palm. He leaned forward, as if admiring a lover. "You never know when the enemy might catch you by surprise."

"I don't know what you mean." Yukiko said, fidgeting under the man's gaze like a civilian. "I just like enjoying tea." She affirmed. The important thing about lying, Yukiko had learned from her father, was that you needed to include some truth. That made it harder for people to tell what was true and what wasn't. She tried not to watch the stranger's reaction too closely. He merely smirked at her.

"I've been around far longer than you might think, little one. I'm not easily fooled." He leaned back and casually glanced over his shoulder. Yukiko followed his gaze to see he was looking directly at her target. "She will be leaving soon. It would be such a hinderance if a common girl such as yourself were to knock a waitress over and spill tea all over her new kimono." Yukiko raised an eyebrow. This stranger was dangerous, but he was filled with excellent ideas.

Yukiko laid her money on the table next to her cup of tea and got up, leaving the man at the table. She made her way between the tables, clumsily bumping into several of the customers and muttering out heartfelt apologies. When she was near the target, Yukiko tripped, stumbling into a waitress carrying a tray of tea and knocking it all over the target.

"Oh no!" Yukiko said, bending over and grabbing one of the cloth napkins and dabbing at the woman's clothes. "I'm so sorry, miss. My mother always said I needed to more careful and watch where I walk." Yukiko rubbed her teary eyes, sniffing and trying her best to clean the woman's clothes.

"It's fine, just get off me." The woman said. Yukiko started bawling.

"I just can't bear that I've gone and ruined your fine clothes. Please let me help you clean. If that doesn't work, you can bring it by my house and I'll do my best to get any stains out. I'll even pay you back. Please, I feel just awful!" Yukiko wiped her tear stained eyes again, and the woman sighed.

"Fine. Let me go to the bathroom and dry off." She droned, rolling her eyes. Yukiko continued murmuring out apologies and followed the woman to the bathroom. They entered the bathroom and Yukiko helped the woman dry off, tears still running down her face. When the woman turned away to step into one of the bathroom stalls, Yukiko gently grabbed her wrist. The woman tried to pull away, but Yukiko held fast. In a flash, she grabbed hold of the woman's other wrist and held them tight in one hand, pulling a roll of ninja wire from within the folds of her kimono.

"Sorry." Yukiko said, her voice steeled and firm. The target struggled as Yukiko tied her wrists. "Next time you decide to betray your village, try keeping your reflexes sharp." The woman turned, trying to get in a kick or tackle, but Yukiko was prepared. A few choice handseals had the woman slumped over, caught in a genjutsu that would leave her unconscious for several hours. Yukiko sighed, but finished binding the woman. When the woman was secure, Yukiko pushed her into a stall and locked the door before clambering over. She would need some help getting the woman out the high bathroom window undetected by observers.

Yukiko left the bathroom, adopting her worried civilian mannerisms once again, only to bump headlong into the strange man from her table. He let out a dark laugh before stepping back.

"Don't get too carried away." He muttered, his voice low. "You aren't done yet, little one."

"I'll be sure to remember that." Yukiko replied, making to step around him. He grabbed her hand and Yukiko stiffened, preparing for the worst.

"It isn't polite to leave without saying goodbye, Yukiko." He said, watching her as her eyes widened in shock. "I know your father raised you with more manners that this."

"Goodbye." Yukiko bit out, still trying to pull her hand from the man's grasp. He smirked and released her hand.

"Good luck with the rest of your mission. You might want to take second watch tonight." He stepped to the side and Yukiko made her way past the stranger, determined to reach the only exit before he could do anything more. When she stepped over the threshold, Yukiko glanced back. The strange man was leaning against the back wall, staring at her intently. He raised an eyebrow at her before mouthing the answer to her unasked question.

The heat of the day wasn't enough to stifle the chill that went down her spine and made the hair on her neck stand on end. Yukiko turned away, searching frantically for one of her teammates. She tried to hide her shudder while she approached Hiraku, one name running through her mind.

Madara


	23. Chapter 23

**Note:** Many heartfelt apologies for such a late update. This isn't forgotten. I still have a majority of it written. I just need certain pieces written and somehow this has slipped my mind. Expect more updates sooner. Also, apologies for readers who aren't into SasuHina. The fluff happened on accident, I swear.

Legendary

Every bone in her body ached, but Yukiko resisted the urge to crawl in her bed and fall asleep the moment she got home. The house was quiet, and Yukiko was glad she had remained with Hiraku for a few minutes. Even though she and Kazuki managed to remain almost civil on missions, Yukiko wasn't fond of spending extra time with her twin brother. When she stepped into the house, she slipped off her shoes and made her way up the stairs silently. She passed her room and walked to the end of the hall. Voices came from inside the last room.

"But Dad, she promised." Kouki said. "Just let me stay up until Kiko comes home."

"She might not be home for a while" Yukiko heard her father say. "And it's far past your bedtime." Yukiko took a step forward to enter the room but stopped just before the door when her mother spoke.

"I think he can stay up just a little longer." Hinata said softly. "Besides, he's not very tired."

"Yeah!" Kouki said. "You can tell me a story!" And then I'll go t bed. I promise." Sasuke sighed and let out a low chuckle.

"Alright. Just one ." Sasuke said. "What do you want to hear?" Yukiko smiled. Her father was tough, but he had a soft side for his children.

"Ummm..." Kouki trailed off, not sure. "How about..." He looked between his parents. "How did you marry Mom?" Yukiko smiled. Her parents were very private people, but when she was little, she had pestered her father into telling the tale. She took another quiet step towards the door and looked inside.

Yukiko peered though the doorway to see her parents sitting on either side of Kouki on his bed. Her little brother looked eager to hear the story, and Yukiko felt a pang of jealousy at the sight. Her little brother would always know what it was like to have two loving parents, and always have a home. She dismissed the thought as her father started speaking.

"After I fell in love with your mother, I threatened your grandfather into letting me marry her." Sasuke said. "And then we got married."

"Dad!" Kouki whined, clearly disappointed. "That's not a story."

"Your sister is here, so I think it's enough for tonight." Sasuke said turning to the door. Yukiko sighed, but stepped into the room.

"Kiko!" Kouki exclaimed, his eyes bright. He nearly jumped out of bed, but Hinata placed a hand on his shoulder and kept him there.

"I told you I would be back." Yukiko said, approaching the bed and letting her brother embrace her.

"Yeah. But I was worried." He muttered into her shoulder. Yukiko held her brother tight.

"You don't need to worry about me. I'm the greatest ninja ever. Remember?" Yukiko released her brother, but he frowned.

"I still think you should tell me a real story." He said, pouting. Yukiko rolled her eyes at her little brother.

"It isn't very fair." Hinata said, giving Sasuke a meaningful look.

"And besides, you told me a better version than that." Yukiko added, grinning at her father as he sighed. Yukiko sat on the bed, letting Kouki lean on her shoulder.

"Fine." Sasuke relented. "When I came back to Konoha-"

"You can't start there!" Hinata said, her soft voice firm. "You miss all the important parts if you skip that far." She met her husbands eyes, and Yukiko watched them, fascinated. She couldn't quite place the expression her father was making, but he looked conflicted.

"If you want to tell the story, go ahead." He said, raising an eyebrow at Hinata. She smiled and turned to her children. She thought for a moment before beginning.

"Well, I think the story starts many years ago, before I ever loved your father." She said softly, placing her hand on one of Sasuke's. "And when your father was a long way from home." Yukiko raised an eyebrow. This wasn't how her father had told the story. Perhaps there was more to it than she knew.

"It was in the middle of the Great War. Back when I loved Naruto." Yukiko's jaw dropped, but Hinata continued. "I had already confessed my love to him, but we hadn't been able to talk about it. I was determined to be by his side, so I was there when he battled Madara." Yukiko did her best to look enthralled by the story and not wince when her mother spoke Madara's name.

"What next?" Kouki asked, nearly bouncing in place.

"I showed up." Sasuke said, before Hinata could continue. "I defeated Kabuto with my brother. Itachi remained behind to ensure Kabuto couldn't interfere, and I went to fight Madara." His gaze was unfocused, as if remembering a painful time. "It was the last time I ever spoke to Itachi. But when I came to fight Madara, Naruto was already battling him."

"And we were helping." Hinata added. Yukiko realized that her parent's weren't interrupting each other, but building upon each other and providing a more complete version of the tale. "The rest of our group and I. We did all we could to help Naruto. It wasn't much, but it counted."

"But how does this explain how you got married?" Yukiko asked, wondering if the two would ever get to the point.

"When I arrived, I jumped in at once. I wasn't going to let Naruto do what I should have done long before." Sasuke said. "Which is why I ended up nearly dying. I had no idea what kind of Power Madara had, or how he was using it. And your mother, well—your mother saved my life."

"On accident." Hinata added quickly. "I was trying to get to Naruto, to warn him, but I ran into your father and prevented Madara from killing him. It was embarassing." Hinata was blushing profusely, and Yukiko wondered if perhaps there were a few details being left out for Kouki's sake.

"After that, we stayed together." Sasuke said. "She couldn't get close to Naruto to tell him the information by herself, and I was being targeted by Madara. It was best for the two of us to stay together and fight our way to Naruto. When the battle was finally done, we didn't separate for a long time. Being together just worked for us." Sasuke explained, his voice even.

"Your father won't tell you this, but that's when he fell in love with me." Hinata added with a small giggle. Sasuke looked like he was going to correct her but Hinata just smiled. "It took me longer, but he is right. We started to spend time together, and things just started to work out. And then he threatened grandpa into letting us get married. And here we are."

"And now it is time for you to sleep." Sasuke said, placing a kiss on the top of Kouki's head. He stood up and waited while Kouki hugged his sister and mother tightly. Yukiko stepped away from the bed and watched for a moment as her mother tucked Kouki in. The three quietly left the youngest Uchiha's room, leaving Kouki to dream of battles and love stories.

"You never told me that." Yukiko whispered to her father. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"I didn't think you cared for cheesy romance stories." Sasuke said, glancing at his wife.

"Had I known you lived one, I think I would have." Yukiko said with a laugh.

"He doesn't like for people to know he had to propose three times either." Hinata added quickly before making her way down the hall and out of Sasuke's grasp. Yukiko stifled a laugh as her father followed after her mother, both of them with strangely open and happy. Perhaps there was real love in the world. And maybe, despite most appearances, her parents had it.


	24. Chapter 24

**Note: **Quick update because procrastination is my lover and I should be writing a paper. This is old. This is really old. I take back what I said before. This is the first piece I wrote for this fic. So enjoy the chapter that started it all.

The Pledge

A figure burst through the door to the Hokage's office. Sasuke ran to the desk, slamming his fist on the table when Naruto refused to look up.

"Where are they?" Sasuke hissed. Naruto sighed before speaking.

"They're fine Sasuke, don't worry." He said before returning to the paperwork on his desk. Sasuke snatched the paper up.

"Don't lie to me Naruto! Where are my children?" His shout echoed through the room, only to be met by silence. When Naruto made no sigh of answering, Sasuke reached across the desk. His hand tightened around the collar of Naruto's shirt, and with a quick pull, Sasuke had pulled Naruto out of his seat so the two were face to face.

"I told you, they're fine." Naruto stated, his voice even and unperturbed. "You don't need to worry so much." Sasuke's grip loosened on Naruto's shirt, but he held the Hokage still.

"I just received word from one of my ANBU that a group of A-ranked criminals are wandering about in Lightning country, killing anyone they find. He was part of a team of five. And he's the only survivor. If they're out there, we need to send someone to get them back." Sasuke released Naruto's shirt. Naruto stood and turned to the large windows behind his desk.

"You're forgetting that my only son is out there with them." He whispered. "They should have been put up for the chunin exams their first year as genin. They were ready for promotion for two years, but I had Shikamaru wait instead. By their age we were both out training to achieve our goals, and had dealt with more A-ranked criminals than I can remember."

"Our lives are not their lives Naruto. You can't keep trying to live a better childhood through your son." Sasuke walked over so that he was standing by his friend and allowed his gaze to follow Naruto's out the window. Directly in his line of vision were Konoha's gates, wide open and waiting for the return of several shinobi.

"I know that Sasuke. And you need to realize that just because we can shelter them doesn't mean we should. You're a good father, but you keep trying to make up for what you didn't have at their age, and it's only stifling them." Naruto closed his eyes and let out another sigh, but this time it was filled with far more emotion.

"Three months." He said, before taking the paper Sasuke was still holding and returning to his desk. "The mission was only going to take two weeks, but with these developments, it will take around three months." Sasuke turned to yell at Naruto once again, but stopped short. At his desk, Naruto had placed his elbows on the desk, and his face was covered with his hands.

"How could I be so stupid? I knew something like this would happen, but let myself be deluded. I can't believe she talked me into this…" Naruto trailed off.

"What are you talking about?" Sasuke asked. "There's no way Sakura tried to convince you to send them away for that long on such a dangerous mission." Naruto's face appeared from behind his hands. He grinned at Sasuke and laughed. After a moment, he wiped a few tears of laughter from his eyes.

"You still don't know?" He asked with genuine curiosity. "She's kept it from you for this long?" Sasuke remained silent while Naruto stifled his laughter.

"I promised her that I wouldn't tell you, but under certain circumstances, I have to be honest with you." Naruto paused and with a sly smirk leaned back in his chair for the first time that day.

"You daughter wants to be Hokage." He said simply, waiting for a response. Sasuke stood silent for a moment, contemplating what his best friend had said.

"You're joking." Sasuke stated, not believing him. Naruto shook his head and smiled.

"No, I wouldn't joke about something like that. She's had it in mind for at least three or more years." Naruto paused, a far away look in his eyes. "I think I understand why the old man and the hag always let me get away with everything. Seeing the way she acted, it reminds me of how I used to act."

"Never again compare my daughter with yourself as a teenager. She has manners." Sasuke cut in.

"I know. But it's the persistence. The determination to prove herself, to me, to you, to the world. She carries a burden that neither of us will understand completely. She has to deal with the expectations that come from you to carry on the bloodline. She struggles to show the village that she won't live her life the way you did and turn traitor. And above all else, she keeps trying to show her brother that she's better, that she can be Hokage. Because the way he's treated her isn't helping her self confidence. She just wants to make us proud, and I think that if I hadn't given them the mission, she would have assumed that I thought less of her."

Sasuke stood in stunned silence, contemplating Naruto's words.

"Why didn't she tell me?" He finally breathed out after a few minutes of contemplation.

"The same reason she didn't want to tell Shikamaru, or Hinata, or even her brother. Because she thought that you would be disappointed if you found out. That you would call her goal a silly dream. She didn't want to disappoint you."

.~.~.~.~.~.~.

Four months passed, with little news from Team Shikamaru. Sasuke had taken to waiting at the gates every day at sunset, waiting for them to return. Sometimes he would be joined by Hinata or Naruto or Sakura. But now he stood alone, watching the horizon carefully. With every day after the three month mark had been passed, Sasuke became more and more anxious.

As the sun began to set on the last day of the fourth month, four slow moving figures appeared in the distance. At once Sasuke recognized them, sensing their chakra signatures for the first time in months. Only one of the figures stood alone. Two of the others were supporting a third who seemed to be gravely wounded. Sasuke ran to the group, his eyes widening as he took in the sight before him.

Shikamaru was leaning heavily against Hiraku, while his own son helped keep their leader steady. The three were all bloody and looked exhausted. From behind them, he saw her.

Yukiko had grown at least three inches in the last four months. Along with her height, she had grown her hair out. While she had once kept it cut short for convenience, now her hair fell to her shoulder blades and tied back at the nape of her neck, far too similar to the way her deceased uncle had once kept it.

She looked more worn than the others combined, and it was only after a moment that Sasuke noticed that she was carrying a decapitated head in her hand. With the other she wiped her brow and looked around. Yukiko's eyes met Sasuke's. She let out a small sigh and smiled at her father.

Sasuke could only stare. The way his daughter smiled at him sent him spiraling back into his memories of when he had killed Itachi. The way she closed her eyes and smiled at him was far too similar to what Itachi had done, and for the first time in her lifetime, Sasuke recognized her subtle features that were distinctly like Itachi's.

Yukiko opened her eyes again and tried to take another step forward. When she placed her foot down, her leg crumbled under her, causing her to fall down. She dropped the head and collapsed. Sasuke was at her side immediately, and pulled her into a sitting position.

"Daddy." She whispered. "I missed you." Yukiko stared up at her father, hope in her eyes. Sasuke stared down at his firstborn. Her eyes were the deep crimson of the Sharingan with the telltale signs of the Magenyeko she had acquired years earlier.

"I missed you too." He whispered back. Yukiko closed her eyes and rested her head against her father's chest.

"Don't worry." She said with more assurance. "I'm home."


End file.
